CPM whistleblower V Kunhikrishnan gets UDF backing in Payyannur

So it will be a direct fight between CPM whistleblower V Kunhikrishnan and CPM’s influential MLA TI Madhusoodhan in Payyannur.

Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan on Wednesday announced in New Delhi that the United Democratic Front (UDF) has decided to back V Kunhikrishnan, who is contesting as an independent candidate in Payyannur. Backing Kunhikrishnan, a CPM insider with strong grassroots acceptance, gives the UDF its best chance to take on the Marxist party in its strongest citadel.

The UDF had originally allotted the Payyannur seat to its constituent party, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). The decision was to back Kunhikrishnan, with the RSP's consent, said Satheesan in Delhi.

Kannur District Congress Committee President Martin George told Onmanorama that the RSP has agreed to give up the seat. “It will be like that (what Satheesan said) in Payyannur,” he said.

Kunhikrishnan, a former CPM Kannur district committee member, announced his decision to contest from Payyannur on Monday, March 16, a day after the CPM officially said MLA Madhusoodanan was its candidate in the constituency. He also hoped that the UDF would back his candidature.

His entry into the fray from Payyannur is rooted in a long-running confrontation with the party leadership over allegations of corruption. For nearly four years, Kunhikrishnan had been raising, within party forums, allegations that incumbent MLA Madhusoodanan and others misappropriated funds collected for the family of slain CPM worker C V Dhanraj, as well as money raised for constructing the party’s Payyannur area committee office in 2016. He also alleged irregularities in funds mobilised for Madhusoodanan’s 2021 election campaign.

These allegations first surfaced internally when Kunhikrishnan was the CPM’s Payyannur area secretary, triggering disciplinary churn within the party. While Madhusoodanan was briefly moved out of the district secretariat, Kunhikrishnan too was removed from his post. A year later, Madhusoodanan was reinstated, and Kunhikrishnan was accommodated in the district committee, a move seen as an attempt to contain the dissent.

The truce, however, did not hold. In January this year, Kunhikrishnan went public with his charges, and on February 4, released a book, ‘Nethruthwathe Anikal Thiruthanam’ (‘The Rank Should Correct the Leadership’), detailing what he described as corruption and decay within the party. The book sold out on the day of its release, a response his supporters cite as evidence of resonance among the cadre.

“The party has not given an explanation that convinces the people,” Kunhikrishnan had said while announcing his candidature. “In such a situation, the party and the Left are bound to lose. But the party and the Left should not lose. That is why we strengthened the struggle against the wrong line within.”

A CPM member for five decades, he said the decision to contest followed repeated appeals from party sympathisers.

Even with UDF backing, breaching Payyannur remains a formidable task. The CPM has never lost the constituency and retains a dense organisational network, reinforced by co-operative institutions. In the last Assembly election, Madhusoodanan polled 93,695 votes, securing about 62.5% vote share and a margin of nearly 50,000 votes. The Congress candidate, M Pradeep Kumar, managed just 43,915 votes, fewer than the CPM’s victory margin.

Yet, the arithmetic does not fully capture the emerging unease. In the recent municipal election, Vaishak C, a former DYFI leader expelled after confronting alleged local strongmen, defeated the CPM candidate in the Kara division, pushing the party to third place in a ward it previously held. Vaishak has since met Kunhikrishnan and urged him to contest, while several CPM leaders, including a former Payyannur MLA, are understood to have extended tacit support.

Kunhikrishnan’s book was sold out on the day it was launched on February 4. The event at Gandhi Park in Payyannur saw a huge turnout.

Madhusoodanan, battered by corruption allegations, also faces criticism over accessibility, with detractors dubbing him an “Innova MLA”, a reference to claims that his public presence is limited to places reachable by car. This election may test his popularity and acceptance level more than the CPM’s ability to retain the seat.