Role reversal in Kerala Assembly: Pinarayi Vijayan named Leader of Opposition as Satheesan to take over as CM

In a dramatic reversal of roles in the Kerala Assembly, former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is set to become the Leader of the Opposition, while former Opposition leader V D Satheesan will take over as Chief Minister.

The CPM state committee on Thursday unanimously elected Vijayan as the leader of its legislative party, paving the way for him to assume the post of LoP in the Assembly. Party state secretary M V Govindan said the decision was taken at a meeting attended by CPM General Secretary M A Baby and senior leader A Vijayaraghavan. The meeting was chaired by K Radhakrishnan.

The decision came despite reservations from the CPI, the second-largest constituent of the Left Democratic Front (LDF). Senior CPI leaders had argued that the Opposition leadership should be handed to a new face, with some within the party attributing the LDF’s electoral defeat partly to Vijayan’s leadership style.

The Assembly election results, declared on May 4, saw the United Democratic Front (UDF) register a landslide victory by winning 102 of the 140 seats, ending the LDF’s decade-long rule in the state. The Congress emerged as the single largest party with 63 seats, following which Satheesan was chosen as the Chief Minister-designate.

All the major allies of the LDF had lost their seats, leaving the LDF with just three parties in the 16th Kerala assembly. The LDF was reduced to 35 seats, with the CPM winning 26, the CPI eight and the RJD one. The BJP secured three seats.

Despite the heavy defeat and mounting criticism over his governance style, Vijayan has largely remained silent in public. The veteran leader had been aiming for a historic third consecutive term in office. However, M A Baby recently said the electoral setback was a collective responsibility of the party leadership and could not be blamed on any one individual. He added that the party would undertake corrective measures and carry out a detailed review of the poll debacle.

The party cadres had clamoured for a change in leadership, and it was perceived that asking Pinarayi to lead the opposition could be like mocking the people's mandate in the assembly polls. The CPM has, however, stuck with Vijayan. The CPI has already asked for a deputy opposition leader post to derail any attempt at centring power equations around Vijayan. Former Revenue Minister K Rajan has been appointed as CPI's parliamentary party leader, and if the CPM accedes to the demand for a deputy leader, Rajan will assume the post.

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 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 the 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.

In other words, by choosing Pinarayi as the opposition leader, the CPM has persisted with a tradition.