Kottayam/Palakkad(Kerala) | 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.
Guwahati | In a major jolt to the opposition Congress in Assam ahead of the assembly polls, its former state president Bhupen Borah will join the BJP on February 22, while its suspended MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed joined the Raijor Dal on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited Borah’s residence in the Ghoramara area of Guwahati, a day after the senior leader resigned from the Congress.
The two leaders held discussions for over an hour and a half, following which Sarma announced that Borah will join the BJP along with his supporters, and state BJP president Dilip Saikia will finalise the modalities.
"Borah, along with some of his supporters, will join the BJP in Guwahati, but there will be another joining programme at Lakhimpur from where he hails, as many Congress members have expressed their desire to follow his steps," Sarma said, with the veteran leader by his side.
Claiming that Borah's move reflects poorly on the Congress, the CM alleged that the party is "no longer a place for Hindus".
"He is the last recognised Hindu leader of the Congress without family antecedents in the party," he said.
Sarma claimed Bora, who was the state Congress president from 2021 to 2025, has struggled for a long time in the opposition party, and he will get a platform in the BJP to do what he wants.
"He is an old colleague. We met after a long time. We did not talk much about politics, but caught up on old times," he said.
When asked about the constituency Borah may contest from in the assembly polls, Sarma said no such discussions had taken place.
"He is not joining the BJP in exchange for an assembly seat. There is no bargaining involved. If required, he can even contest from Jalukbari," Sarma said, referring to his own constituency.
Borah, however, did not speak at the press conference.
He had resigned from the Congress on Monday, but the party's top leadership did not accept his resignation, making attempts to persuade him to take it back. Following this, he sought time to reconsider his decision, amid which Sarma met him and made the announcement.
Ahmed formally joined the Raijor Dal at a programme in Kalgachia in Barpeta district, where he was welcomed by its chief Akhil Gogoi and other senior leaders.
The three-time MLA from Baghbor constituency said he would seek nomination from the Mandia constituency in the forthcoming assembly elections, the first in the state after the delimitation exercise.
Ahmed claimed he was "shown the door" by both the AIUDF and the Congress for "raising voice against injustices and on behalf of the poor and deprived".
"I will continue to fight for the rights of the people and seek public support," he said.
A former government official, Ahmed was first elected to the Assembly in 2011 as an AIUDF member. After being expelled, he joined the Congress and retained the Baghbor seat in 2016 and 2021.
He was suspended from Congress in October 2021 for "repeatedly violating party discipline".
He had also been arrested prior to his suspension over alleged "provocative" remarks against an eviction drive in Darrang district in September 2021.
Another three-time Congress MLA, Abdur Rashid Mandal, joined the Raijor Dal on Monday.
The CM claimed that there are many grassroots Muslim leaders in the Congress who are disillusioned and will join the Raijor Dal in the future.
"The BJP will have Raijor Dal and not the Congress as its opposition in the 2031 assembly polls," he claimed.
The Congress did not immediately comment on the development.