'He handed me the Thaali': CPI(M) man's tearful counter to G. Sudhakaran's drug charge

For years, M.M. Anas Ali counted G. Sudhakaran among his closest political mentors — a man who, quite literally, blessed his wedding. This weekend, that bond lay in tatters, as the CPI(M) Haripad area committee member accused the party dissident turned Independent MLA of wilfully targeting him to tarnish his reputation.

Speaking to The Hindu on Sunday (September 6, 2026), a day after he broke down at a press conference he had convened in Alappuzha, Mr. Ali demanded that the MLA withdraw his comments linking him to drug rackets. If Mr. Sudhakaran refuses, he said, a defamation case will follow.

A friendship that soured

Mr. Ali said he had shared a close relationship with Mr. Sudhakaran for a long time. Things turned bitter, he claimed, only after the party appointed him to coordinate the Assembly election campaign in the Ambalappuzha constituency.

“I became part of the leadership of the Balasangam, Students' Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), and Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) when the party in the district was firmly under Mr. Sudhakaran’s control. For my wedding ceremony, he was the one who handed me the ‘Thaali’. Even the day before he decided to leave the party, we had gone to his house to convince him to stay. He had agreed also. These baseless allegations have come out of the blue,” said Mr. Ali.

The hurt in that account is hard to miss — this was not a casual political acquaintance, but a relationship woven through his personal milestones.

A family under strain

The allegations, Mr. Ali said, have rippled far beyond politics and into his home. His family members, he said, have not stepped outside the house in the past few days.

“My wife has not gone to work for the past three days. Neither has my child gone to school nor has my father gone to the mosque on Friday,” he said.

A warning — and a ₹1 notice

At the press conference, Mr. Ali also cautioned Mr. Sudhakaran that he would be forced to make certain revelations if the MLA continued to target him. Among them: a fake social media post on a woman politician that Mr. Sudhakaran had allegedly sent him, and an alleged attempt to suppress an issue related to the death by suicide of a girl in Thottappally.

For now, his formal move is symbolic but pointed — a notice seeking ₹1 in damages, a token sum he says is meant only to establish his integrity. Whether the MLA retracts, or the fight moves to court, remains to be seen.

How the weekend unfolded