Payyannur: V Kunhikrishnan, a former district committee member expelled by the CPM, has announced that he will contest the upcoming Kerala Assembly election from Payyannur.

He made the announcement after the party decided to field TI Madhusoodanan once again from the constituency. Kunhikrishnan revealed his decision at a press conference on Monday. The CPM had announced its candidates within hours of the election being declared on Sunday.

Kunhikrishnan said he had earlier refrained from stating his stand, believing that the Left would not field a person who had faced so many allegations as a candidate in Payyannur. However, since the Left had decided to field the same candidate again, he had no option but to contest the election to continue his struggle. He clarified that he would contest as an independent candidate.

He added that his decision should be seen as a fight against corruption and not as a struggle against the Left. According to him, the existence of the Left is essential for Kerala, but he does not see the Left candidate in Payyannur as a true representative of the Left.

Kunhikrishnan was expelled from the CPM after he raised allegations in connection with a fund controversy in Payyannur. He had alleged irregularities in the construction of the area committee office and in the fund of martyr Dhanaraj. Later, he also published a book detailing the alleged fund controversy within the party in Payyannur.

In the book, he claims that the party suffered a loss of about ₹91 lakh due to irregularities related to the construction of the area committee office and the martyr Dhanaraj fund. Kunhikrishnan wrote that he was torn between protecting the party and protecting a leader. He said he ultimately decided that the party must be protected, not the leader. However, according to him, the leadership chose to protect the leader at any cost, which forced him to openly write about the issue.