The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday (Jan 26, 2026) expelled Kannur district committee member V Kunhikrishnan from the primary membership of the party for making allegations related to collection of martyrs’ fund publicly in a television interview.
Announcing the decision at a press conference, CPI(M) Kannur district secretary KK Ragesh said Mr Kunhikrishnan had “acted as a tool in the hands of the party’s enemies” by repeating issues that had already been resolved by the district committee in April 2022.
Mr. Ragesh alleged that the interview aired by the news channel was “deliberately timed” before the (Assembly) elections and amounted to “stabbing the party in the back”.
Mr. Ragesh said the party had earlier looked into the allegations leveled by Mr. Kunhikrishnan in the district committee and found them baseless. He accused Mr. Kunhikrishnan of trying to “personally defame” party legislator from Payyannur TI Madhusoodanan by linking him to land deals and cooperative institutions, even though Mr. Madhusoodanan does not hold any official position in these bodies.
According to Mr. Ragesh, the commission of inquiry report concluded that there was a deliberate attempt to tarnish Mr. Madhusoodanan’s image, a finding that Mr. Kunhikrishnan “himself accepted”.
He further claimed that the party had clear evidence of the alleged leak of “internal information” and said that Mr Kunhikrishnan had “effectively admitted it in his own statements”.
The CPI(M) leader said the party “could not tolerate such behaviour”, adding that Mr Kunhikrishnan’s actions stemmed from “personal animosity” against Mr Madhusoodanan and were driven by a “vengeful mindset”. He said the CPI(M) was “strong enough to face such challenges politically and overcome them”.
Published – 27 Jan 2026 11:20 AM IST
