At the moment, who the new Opposition Leader would be is as much a matter of speculation as who would assume the Chief Minister's post. 
Pinarayi Vijayan, who had tendered his resignation right after the results, offered a hint on Tuesday that he might be willing to take on the role of the Opposition Leader. 

By May 4 afternoon, the title of Chief Minister has vanished from Pinarayi's social media handles. His profile on Facebook and X (Twitter) handles now just says: 'Polit Bureau member, Communist Party of India (Marxist)'.

What has triggered speculation is not this change in description but the rechristening of the CMO (Chief Minister's Office) Media. It was on this WhatsApp group that all official information flowed to journalists. 

The CMO WhatsApp group is now Opposition Media group. It has also been communicated that official communication from the opposition side would be funnelled through this renamed group.

Though CPM sources have refused to throw light on what Pinarayi has in mind, the renaming of the CMO Media group has opened the possibility of Pinarayi himself taking over the Opposition Leader's role. "You don't have to read too much into this. It is just that we cannot use the title Chief Minister from now on," a top CPM leader said. 

The CMO Media group could then have been silently dissolved, the CPM source was asked. "Why should it be," he shot back.  "We already have the entire media contingent in this group. The office of the new Opposition Leader will find it easier," the leader said.

Till now, the widely held notion was that Pinarayi would go into semi-retirement mode and make way for a new CPM leadership inside the Assembly, just like former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy did after the UDF loss in 2016.

Consequently, all discussions about the Opposition Leader had kept Pinarayi out of the picture. Now that most consequential CPM leaders - particularly Central Committee members like K K Shylaja and P Rajeev - have fallen by the way side, outgoing finance minister K N Balagopal is seen as the natural choice for the Opposition Leader post. 

Even if Balagopal is eventually given the post, it requires Pinarayi's nod. It is also true that, given Pinarayi's as yet unchallenged authority in the party, any CPM MLA wanting the Opposition Leader post would require his backing. The new Opposition Leader, in short, will be Pinarayi's man.

However, the rechristening of the CMO Media group has opened the possibility of Pinarayi himself taking over the responsibility. It is not rare for a CPM stalwart to occupy the Opposition Leader's chair after being the Chief Minister. E M S Namboodirippad became Opposition Leader in 1960 and 1969, both after his Chief Minister stints (1957-59, 1967-69). He became Opposition Leader in 1969 after a spate of desertions forced him to resign and a new government was formed under CPI's C Achutha Menon. In the elections held soon after, in 1970, the Left Front lost to the CPI-led Front, which included the Congress and the Muslim League. EMS was retained as Opposition Leader. He continued in the role even after the Left Front suffered a second consecutive electoral reversal in 1977.

V S Achuthanandan took on the mantle of the Opposition Leader in 2011 after the LDF he led as Chief Minister lost that year. After occupying the lofty CM's chair, both EMS and VS had to lead the Opposition in the Assembly because they were, like Pinarayi today, the tallest leaders of the party at the time. 

If age is a factor, it too should not discourage Pinarayi. VS was 87 in 2011. Pinarayi is only 80.

However, it is also felt that it would be a mockery of the Assembly verdict if the party asks Pinarayi to be the Opposition Leader. The vote was for change.