Palakkad: A Suresh, former personal assistant to VS Achuthanandan, has confirmed that he will join the Congress. He said that after taking membership, he will also begin campaigning as the Congress candidate in Malampuzha. Suresh clarified that the decision to join the Congress was his own and not made at the request of the party leadership.

Earlier, Suresh had attended the reception for the Nava Yuga Yatra led by VD Satheesan in Palakkad, where the Leader of the Opposition welcomed him into the UDF. After severing ties with the CPM, Suresh had initially maintained that he would not join any other party. However, he has now revised that stance and decided to take Congress membership.

He said that the Communist Party has become one that exists only in name. According to him, the Left in Kerala has split into two groups — those who love the party and those who love governance. Though the latter group is a minority, they are the ones controlling the party. He added that Leftist values are eroding and Communist ideals are disappearing. In such a situation, he decided to align with the Congress, which he described as India’s largest secular party.

Responding to a question about contesting from Malampuzha, Suresh said the Congress had told him he could contest in a manner he deemed appropriate. Grassroots Congress workers have expressed that it would be ideal if he contests under the party symbol, the hand, which he agreed was true. Though he had earlier decided not to join any party, he questioned what was wrong in joining the Congress, which he said is leading the strongest fight against communalism in India. He also alleged that there is an undercurrent of understanding between the CPM and the BJP, which, he said, is evident “like daylight.” He added that people have no hesitation in voting for the hand symbol, citing the Lok Sabha election as proof.

Suresh also responded to the recent exit of TK Govindan from the CPM. He said Govindan is someone he has known for years and a true Communist at heart. He remarked that one could understand the depth of pain with which Govindan stepped down by watching his press conference. Suresh also questioned whether there had ever been an election in history where the Left faced such serious internal issues.