On October 15, an Additional District Magistrate, K. Naveen Babu, was found dead at his official residence in Kannur, Kerala. The previous evening, the local district panchayat president from the CPI(M) had gone to Babu’s farewell function and publicly accused him of being corrupt. Babu’s death by suicide has brought to light the differences in the CPI(M) and become an election issue, report Sajit C.P. and Hiran Unnikrishnan