Kannur, Kerala: Around four decades ago, during the early days of the Communist Marxist Party (CMP) political party, two men got down at the Patyam bus stop in Kannur with the intention of meeting their leader, Patyam Rajan. When they asked locals for directions, they were met with confusion.

“Patyam Rajan? There’s no one by that name here. There is a Patyam Gopalan, but he has passed away,” locals replied. Even after repeated inquiries, the answer remained the same: “There is no one called Patyam Rajan here. There is a Kariyadan Rajan. You may have mistaken the person.”

Disappointed at not finding their leader, the two men returned, later realising they may have asked CPM workers for directions.

Whatever the truth of the anecdote, Kerala politics has long seen leaders become better known by their place names than their actual names. Over time, their original names often fade from public memory, replaced by the names of their native places. From panchayath presidents to chief ministers and party leaders, many have carried such identities into electoral politics, with ballot papers also reflecting these combined names.

A Vijayan became Pinarayi Vijayan

Pinarayi Vijayan came to be known by his place name after entering student politics. The son of Alakkattu Kalyani, he adopted his mother’s ancestral house name “Pinarayi” along with his own, and became widely known by that name from his days as a KSF leader.

PV Ramachandran became Ramachandran Kadannappalli

Ramachandran Kadannappalli may not be widely recognised by his original name, Puthanveettil Ramachandran. The “PV” in his name came from his father Krishnan Gurukkal. However, upon entering politics through KSU, he dropped the initials and adopted his native place, “Kadannappalli,” becoming part of his name.

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s identity

Born as Mottammal Balakrishnan to Kunjunni Kurup and Narayani Amma, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan embraced his place name “Kodiyeri,” under which he became a prominent figure in Kerala politics.

In recent times, the trend of adopting place names as part of political identity has declined, with some opting instead to foreground family or ancestral names.

Pinarayi Krishnan Nair

Even before Pinarayi Vijayan, another communist leader from the same region carried the place name—Pinarayi Krishnan Nair. He had participated in the historic Parapram conference where the Communist Party was formed, though he later left the party.