Demoted in 2022 from the influential state committee to an obscure branch role in Alappuzha district, Sudhakaran alleges systematic neglect. ‘Not once did the district secretary inquire about me in five years,’ he wrote, lamenting his exclusion from public events despite his stature.

He zeroed in on M.V. Govindan, the district secretary, for branding him ideologically irrelevant in a press meet—comments Sudhakaran mocked publicly as laughable.

Sudhakaran’s credentials are impeccable: four terms as MLA, ministerial stints including under Pinarayi Vijayan’s first cabinet, and a reputation for straightforward talk that transcends party barriers. Post-2021 election ticket denial, his intermittent outbursts have irked the leadership.

The snub extended to ignoring him at the Emergency’s 50th anniversary commemoration, overlooking his unique sacrifices—arrest, imprisonment, and assaults—as the district’s sole survivor of that era’s crackdown.

With a press conference slated for Friday, observers predict a definitive break. Whispers of a Congress outreach grow louder after K.C. Venugopal’s visit, potentially positioning Sudhakaran for a UDF run in Ambalappuzha. Such a move could reshape Alappuzha’s electoral equations dramatically.

This follows recent exits by MLAs S. Rajendran to BJP and Aysha Potty to Congress, painting a picture of internal discord threatening CPI(M)’s dominance in Kerala.