Is it curtains down for top CPI-M leader G Sudhakaran?

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: His latest letter to state secretary of CPI-M Kodiyeri Balakrishnan asking him to be left out of being a delegate to the 23rd CPI-M Party Congress to be held at Kannur from April 6, for all practical purposes, it's the end of the road for G. Sudhakaran, one of the topmost party leader in Kerala.

A four time legislator and a two time Cabinet Minister, Sudhakaran who is known for his razor sharp tongue and for carrying himself in the most cleanest manner, since last year has been having problems in his party at his home district- Alappuzha.

The 75-year-old veteran's stock started to decline when his feud with then Finance Minister Thomas Isaac also hailing from Alappuzha district, intensified and it took a turn for the worse ever since the present State Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian joined hands with Isaac.

Things went from bad to worse when he expressed his desire to retire from electoral politics in early 2021, though he wished to get one more term. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who had a soft corner for him, did not come to his support and along with many who had contested three times in the past, he was also denied ticket.

And when a new candidate, H. Salam was named by the party from his traditional seat - Ambalapuzha, Sudhakaran again came under fire and allegations surfaced that he was trying to defeat him and this became an issue in the party.

A party panel, comprising CPI-M central committee member Elamaram Kareem and State secretariat member K.J. Thomas, probed into the alleged flaws in party's electioneering in the Ambalapuzha constituency and found him not rising to the occasion.

In November, the party publicly censured him for his lapses at the election campaign 2021 and with it Sudhakaran found out that things are not that rosy and went silent.

And ahead of the CPI-M state party conference, he made his intentions very clear when he wrote to Balakrishnan and Vijayan that he need not be considered for the powerful State Committee of the party, a post which he held.

The party went by his wishes and now he saying that he is not taking part as a delegate at the 23rd Party Congress due to health issues. For all practical purposes, CPI-M in Kerala has lost a tall leader and from now on he will have no role in any major decision making body of the party and would be relegated to a committee of the party at his home district. (IANS)

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