Attempts to mend fences with veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader G. Sudhakaran, who is currently at odds with the party, appear to have failed. Sudhakaran has confirmed he will not attend an award ceremony organized by Karshaka Thozhilali, the official magazine of the party’s affiliate organization, the KSKTU, scheduled for Sunday, October 19, 2025, in Mankombu, Kuttanad.
On Sunday morning, Mr. Sudhakaran departed his residence for Kollam to participate in a separate engagement. When questioned by the media, the seasoned CPI(M) leader stated that the organizers could proceed with their program independently, emphasizing that his presence was not essential.
Just last week, prominent CPI(M) leaders C.S. Sujatha, R. Nazar, and M. Sathyapalan had visited Mr. Sudhakaran at his home. They extended an invitation to the Mankombu award distribution ceremony, an event slated to be attended by high-ranking officials including party general secretary M.A. Baby and State secretary M.V. Govindan. This visit occurred merely a day after Mr. Sudhakaran publicly accused party colleague and Minister for Fisheries and Culture, Saji Cherian, along with a few other leaders, of conspiring to have him expelled from the party.
In a subsequent interview with *The Hindu*, Mr. Sudhakaran clarified that he had no overarching issues with the party itself and confirmed his continued membership in the CPI(M). However, he specifically addressed Saji Cherian’s conduct, stating that Cherian had made an “un-Marxian” public statement against him. “In that statement, he asked me to go side by side with the party. I replied that I am already in the party, not outside it. I am a party man. Every party member is within the party structure. The statement made by Saji Cherian was the issue. He should not speak like this about a member who has 62 years of experience in the undivided party and in the CPI(M). Saji Cherian was still a school student when I became a cadre of the party,” Mr. Sudhakaran elaborated.
The precise reason behind his apparent change of heart regarding the KSKTU program, especially after reportedly accepting the initial invitation, remains unclear.