File photo of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (right) with G. Sudhakaran, MLA
| Photo Credit: S. RAMESHKURUP
G. Sudhakaran, who was sworn in as Pro Tem Speaker on Wednesday (May 20, 2026), said that he had no enmity with his erstwhile CPI(M) colleague and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, as there was “no place for personal grudges in politics.”
Mr. Sudhakaran, a former CPI(M) leader who won from the Ambalappuzha Assembly seat as an Independent candidate backed by the UDF, also said that he sees “no difference” between Mr. Vijayan and any other MLA to whom he would be administering the oath of office on Thursday.
He said that the MLAs will be called in some pre-determined order by the Assembly Secretary, and as Pro Tem speaker, he only has to initiate the oath-taking process, and the rest of it would be read by the legislators themselves.
“Vijayan is only an MLA like the rest of us. He was a CM twice, but I was also a Minister in one of his regimes. I have no enmity with him. There is no place for personal enmity in politics. It harms those who have it,” Mr. Sudhakaran told a TV channel.
Regarding his exit from the CPI(M), he said that he was a member in it for 63 years before deciding not to renew his membership.
“In that manner, I ceased to be a party man. I did not resign nor was I removed from the CPI(M),” he said.
On the CPI(M)’s defeat in the Assembly polls, Mr. Sudhakaran said that Mr. Vijayan and CPI(M) State secretary M V Govindan were also responsible for it, but he has no opinion on whether they should resign from their respective positions in the Left party.
Published – May 20, 2026 11:36 am IST
