Thiruvananthapuram, May 14: In a dramatic role reversal, CPI(M) Politburo member and outgoing Chief Minister of Keralam, Pinarayi Vijayan, is set to lead the Opposition in the 16th Keralam Legislative Assembly—a position previously held by Congress MLA V D Satheesan.
The CPI(M) state committee unanimously elected Vijayan as the Leader of the Opposition during its meeting on Thursday, which was attended by Party General Secretary M A Baby, A Vijayaraghavan, and Vijayan himself, CPI(M) State Secretary M V Govindan confirmed.
After a historic decade in office from 2016 to 2026, Vijayan will now head the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in opposition following the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) decisive victory. The UDF secured 102 of the 140 assembly seats, with Congress winning 63 and its key ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), taking 22, ending the LDF’s ten-year rule in the state.
The LDF managed to win 35 seats in total, with CPI(M) holding 26, CPI 8, and RJD 1 seat. This shift sets the stage for a continuation of the rivalry between Vijayan and Satheesan, who faced each other over the past five years with their benches now swapped. Vijayan had previously served as the CPI(M) State Secretary for 17 years since 1998.
Meanwhile, Congress officially announced V D Satheesan as its Chief Minister-designate after nearly ten days of speculation. Party leader Deepa Dasmunshi made the announcement in New Delhi earlier on Thursday. Satheesan later attended the Congress Legislature Party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, after which he is expected to meet Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar to stake his claim to form the government.
