Kochi: Changing allegiances, enemies becoming friends and friends becoming enemies are common in electoral politics. It is unusual in the state’s political scene for long-serving MLAs to switch to opposing political camps and contest elections.
Former legislators, both inside and outside the legislature, are switching to other parties and ideologies that they once fought fiercely for, and are seeking re-election on the election symbols of their former opponents.
Six former legislators have thus switched allegiance to opposing parties and contested against their former comrades. While four former Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] legislators ended their association with the party, two from the Communist Party of India (CPI) have gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) camp.
Aisha Potty, a three-time CPI(M) MLA from Kottarakkara, ended her decades-long association with the party in the third week of January this year. Mrs. Potty, who headed the Kollam district panchayat as a party nominee from 2000 to 2005, started distancing herself from the party five years ago when the CPI(M) replaced KN Balagopal, who later became the state finance minister, from the Kottarakkara assembly constituency. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Congress started fielding her from the same constituency.
However, the decision came as a shock to the Congress itself. Mahila Congress General Secretary R. Resmi, who had lost the last election against Balagopal, joined the BJP after realizing that the Congress would prefer Mrs. Potty in the 2026 elections. This time, Mrs. Resmi will be the BJP candidate and will face Mrs. Balagopal and Mrs. Potty from the constituency.
S. Rajendran, who was elected as the CPI(M) representative from Devikulam assembly constituency in the 2006, 2011 and 2016 elections, joined the BJP in the second week of January. Rajendran, who had long been at odds with the party, abandoned Marxist ideology and embraced the BJP’s “national” politics. The BJP dutifully fielded him from the constituency.
Another prominent figure who has left the Left camp is former Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran. He had to retire from active politics after the retirement age for party leaders was set at 75. Sudhakaran, a four-time MLA, had publicly expressed his resentment at the party’s state conference in Ernakulam in 2022 when he was expelled from the state committee citing the age limit.
It is reported that the Congress has decided not to field a candidate in the Ambalapuzha constituency, where Sudhakaran is contesting as an independent candidate, in the 2026 elections. However, the BJP has fielded a candidate from the constituency.
Former CPI(M) MLA PK Sasi, who has levelled serious sexual harassment allegations against the Congress, may find a new ally within the party itself after he decided to break ties with the CPI(M) and contest as an independent candidate from Ottapalam. The decision of the United Democratic Front (UDF) will be out soon.
Two of the CPI’s former legislators, K. Ajith, who represented Vaikom for a decade since 2006, and C.C. Mukundan, the first MLA from the state, have decided to abandon their communist heritage and find solace in the saffron camp. Ajith and Mukundan are contesting as BJP candidates in the constituencies.
It remains to be seen whether the former legislators can convince voters of their newfound friendship with their former enemies and replicate their election performance.
