Alappuzha: In what is seen as a scathing attack on the current party dispensation in Kerala, CPM veteran and former state minister G Sudhakaran said that no one can strengthen the party by promoting only a coterie of supporters.

"The party must be acceptable for those outside the part set up too. Only then will we win elections to the Assembly," he said after releasing a book by writer Pooyappilli Thankappan.

"Those in power should be acceptable to people outside the party; that is how the party grows," he said. "Can you sustain a party with five or six supporters? Some people think that is the way to grow the party. That is a wrong notion. I say this because I know it. If those outside the party fold are not acceptable to us, how can we win election to the legislature?" he said.

"Can we (CPM) win if only Marxists vote? That may work in Kannur. But not in Alappuzha. Be acceptable to others. That's only how the movement grows," he said. Sudhakaran, one of the popular leaders who was the works minister in the first Pinarayi government, was overlooked when COM decided not to repeat ministers when LDF won a second term in 2021.

"An MLA told me not to talk about old things. People remember old things even if they don't say them. So listen to the old sayings. That does not mean to live in the past. Only when we listen to the past do we will know how the present was formed. It is the responsibility of the present generation to explain these to those up-and-coming. Otherwise, tomorrow no one will remember those alive today.

"Communists, who were 12 per cent (of the total electorate) have now been reduced to 2.5 per cent in the country. In Kerala, the number is 47 per cent. So it is better to work patiently with the understanding that the movement needs to go a long way; and without the pride that we are above everything. Every word and deed should be good. Slapping rhe opposition across the face is not revolution. It is not proper to believe we can function only with a few," he said.

Sudhakaran did not leave the intellectuals who aligned themselves with the CPM. "It was neither the Congressmen nor the BJP workers who destroyed the Sahithya Pravarthaka Co-Operative Society Ltd and stopped paying royalties to writers for 20 years. During the LDF rule, they were celebrated as cultural heroes. Later, when I managed the department, I ensured that we paid the entire royalty dues. Books that remained unsold were put on sale offering a 50 per cent discount. A separate account was opened to pay royalties. Some criticised that too. What is the logic in saying that a farmer can collect a pension, but writers get royalties? This is the view of intellectuals," he said.