Alappuzha (Kerala), April 4 (AHN) Rebel CPI-M leader G. Sudhakaran, a former cabinet and party colleague of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Saturday launched a sharp attack against him, rejecting claims of his patronage, and asserting his own long-standing political legacy within the Communist movement.

A four-time CPI-M legislator and once among the most popular leaders from Alappuzha, considered one of the party’s strongest bastions after Kannur, Sudhakaran said he has spent 63 years in the Communist Party, having joined at the age of 15.

Dismissing Vijayan’s influence on his career, he remarked that during the 1967 period, Vijayan was largely unknown in Travancore and confined to Thalassery in Malabar.

Sudhakaran’s sharp remarks came at a campaign event attended by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, marking a significant political shift.

Once sidelined by the CPI-M during the 2021 Assembly polls, Sudhakaran had since maintained a low profile.

However, ahead of the election announcement last month, he declared his decision to contest as an independent.

The Congress-led UDF soon extended support, paving the way for his high-profile appearance alongside Rahul Gandhi.

Alappuzha, despite being a Communist stronghold, has witnessed internal factionalism over the years.

The district had seen a major political shock in 1996 when veteran CPI-M leader V.S. Achuthanandan, widely expected to become Chief Minister, lost to a local Congress candidate, an episode often cited as a reflection of internal discord.

At the rally on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi welcomed Sudhakaran, stating that the Left’s ideological foundations have weakened, forcing leaders like him to align with the Congress. Sudhakaran, meanwhile, intensified his criticism, alleging that the CPI-M under Vijayan had failed even to support the legal battle of his martyred brother, which he said was fought using personal resources.

He also mocked senior leader A. Vijayaraghavan and predicted electoral setbacks for the LDF in Alappuzha, asserting that the front could be reduced to just one or two seats if the UDF campaigns effectively.

Early this week, Vijayan, while addressing election meetings in Alappuzha, had slammed Sudhakaran, terming him a traitor and saying that voters will give a fitting reply to him at the April 9 polls.