Former CPI(M) MLA P. Aisha Potty joins Congress in Kerala

Former three-time CPI(M) MLA P. Aisha Potty sprung a surprise on Tuesday (January 13, 2026) by joining the Congress in Kerala.

Ms. Potty formally entered the party shortly after appearing alongside senior Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, at the ongoing day-and-night protest in front of Kerala Lok Bhavan. KPCC president Sunny Joseph handed over her party membership card.

Ms. Potty, who represented the Kottarakara Assembly constituency for three terms, had been distancing herself from the CPI(M) for nearly five years. She was denied a seat in the 2021 Assembly elections after the party chose to field incumbent MLA and Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal from the constituency. In 2024, she was dropped from the CPI(M) Kottarakara area committee. Though she had stayed away from active politics since then, speculation had been rife in recent months about her possible switch to the Congress.

Rejecting allegations that branded her a “class traitor” for changing parties, Ms. Potty said political parties and movements “evolve over time” and that the CPI(M) “was no longer the same organisation it was” when she had joined. She added that she continued to respect party workers and comrades from her former party despite ideological differences.

She said personal attacks would not deter her and that such criticism “only strengthened her resolve.”

Dismissing speculation that differences with CPI(M) leaders, including Mr. Balagopal, prompted her decision, Ms. Potty said she harboured no personal grievances. She added that she had informed the party as early as March 2023 that she was finding it difficult to function effectively. “I realised that I no longer had the space I needed to work,” she said.

Ms. Potty said she had joined the Congress “without any conditions”, but added that it was too early to comment on whether she would contest the upcoming Assembly elections.

Explaining her decision to join the Congress, she said she had initially planned to withdraw from politics and return to her legal profession. However, “repeated appeals from ordinary citizens”, including those without political affiliations, persuaded her to continue active public engagement.

The development comes soon after Mr. Satheesan claimed that the State would witness several “political surprises” in the run-up to the elections. He reiterated that parties within the Left Democratic Front (LDF), National Democratic Alliance (NDA), as well as Independent persons, would come together on the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) platform.