Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Red Flag (CPI(ML) Red Flag) was formed in 1988 as a break-away from the Central Reorganisation Committee, CPI(ML).
The party's main base of support was in Kerala, where it emerged as the major ML faction. It also expanded to other states including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Odisha.
In 2003 a large section of the party in Kerala, including the majority in the Kerala State Committee, broke away, and to create a parallel CPI(ML) Red Flag. The split was led by the Kerala state secretary of the party, P.C. Unnichekkan. This party continues to use the name CPI(ML) Red Flag and supports LDF in Kerala.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 CPI(ML) Red Flag and CPI(ML) took the initiative to form a united front of revolutionary communists. In that front they were able to gather, more than CPI(ML) and CPI(ML) Red Flag, Centre of Communist Revolutionaries (West Bengal), Lal Nishan Party (Leninvadi), MCPI, Marxist-Leninist Committee, New Socialist Movement, Gujarat, PCC CPI(ML) and Bhagat Singh Vichar Manch.
In Kerala a Left Front was formed ahead of the elections together with BTR-EMS-AKG Janakeeya Samskarika Vedi of V.B. Cheriyan.
CPI (ML) Red Flag merged with Kanu Sanyal's CPI(ML) at a unity conference in Vijayawada January 2005