Ex-CPI(M) Faces Prem Kumar, A Suresh Share Congress Platform Ahead Of Kerala Polls

Ahead of Kerala's Assembly elections, two former CPI(M) figures publicly aligned with the Congress.

Actor Prem Kumar, ex-Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman, criticized artistic suppression at a Congress event.

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Kottayam/Palakkad(Kerala), Feb 17 (PTI) Two well-known faces earlier associated with the CPI(M) were seen sharing the Congress platform in Kerala on Tuesday, in a development that has drawn attention ahead of the crucial Assembly elections.

Actor and former Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman Prem Kumar appeared on a Congress stage at the KPCC’s Samskara Utsav 2026, held at the Indoor Stadium in Nagampadam, Kottayam.

Kumar attended the programme as chief guest in the absence of AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, who was scheduled to inaugurate the event.

In his speech, Kumar said he had come for a cultural programme and not a political meeting.

Stressing the importance of creative freedom, he said an artist must have "boundless freedom" and warned that voices of writers and artists were increasingly being silenced.

Art, he said, was the strongest form of expression, and suppressing it was a sign of fascism. He added that theatre artists today often struggle to present ideas they truly believe in.

Kumar had recently accused the state government of "double standards" in connection with his removal from the post of Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman.

Meanwhile in Palakkad, A Suresh, former personal assistant to veteran CPI(M) leader V S Achuthanandan, joined the Congress-led Puthuyuga Yatra led by Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan.

Satheesan welcomed Suresh to the stage during the concluding event of the Palakkad district yatra.

Speaking emotionally, Suresh said the pressure he faced over the years was intense and claimed the Left had moved away from its core values.

He said the pain he carried for 13 years had ended.

Suresh, who was expelled from the CPI(M) years ago for alleged anti-party activities, had continued as a supporter of the Marxist party. PTI COR TGB HMP KH

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)