Overview
- Potty formally took Congress membership on January 13 at a protest outside Kerala Lok Bhavan, where KPCC chief Sunny Joseph inducted her in the presence of K. C. Venugopal and V. D. Satheesan.
- The three-term former MLA from Kottarakkara cited having “no space” in the CPI(M) after being denied a ticket in 2021 and dropped from the area committee in 2024, saying a few decision makers made things difficult.
- The CPI(M) Kollam district committee condemned her exit as self-serving, state secretary M. V. Govindan on January 15 called it opportunistic, and M. A. Baby termed it painful but not electorally damaging.
- Congress leaders have signaled she is likely to be fielded from Kottarakkara, while Potty says she joined without conditions, is not power-hungry, and expects online attacks but is unafraid.
- Her move comes as the CPI(M) confronts other departures, with TV face Reji Lukose joining the BJP and former MLA S. Rajendran saying he will shift to the BJP, as the UDF predicts more crossovers ahead of state polls.