Thiruvananthapuram (Keralam) [India], May 14 : In a perfect role reveral, CPI(M) Politburo member and outgoing Chief Minister of Keralam Pinarayi Vijayan will lead the Opposition in the 16th Keralam Assembly, a position that was held by Congress MLA VD Satheesan in the previous House.
CPI(M) state committee unanimously elected Pinarayi Vijayan as the Leader of the Opposition in the Keralam Legislative Assembly, according to a statement by the party.
The decision was taken in today's state committee meeting, which was attended by Party General Secretary MA Baby, A Vijayaraghavan and Pinarayi Vijayan himself among others, CPI(M) State Secretary, M V Govindan said.
After serving as Chief Minister for a historic decade (2016-2026), Vijayan is now set to lead the Left Democratic Front (LDF)'s opposition in the Assembly
The United Democratic Front (UDF) won 102 seats in the 140-member house. While the Congress secured 63 seats its main ally, IUML won 22 seats ending the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) decade-long rule in the State.
The LDF had notched up a total of 35 seats -the CPI(M) holds 26 seats, and the CPI holds 8 seats, with one seat for RJD.
The two leaders who faced off during the last five years-Satheesan as the challenger and Vijayan as the CM- will now continue their rivalry with their benches swapped.
Vijayan served as the CPI(M) State Secretary for 17 years from 1998.
Meanwhile, the All India Congress party officially finalized Satheesan's name today after nearly ten days of suspense. Congress leader Deepa Dasmunshi made the announcement in the national capital this morning.
Satheesan the Keralam Chief Minister designate arrived for the Congress Legislature Party meeting held in Thiruvanathapuram this evening.
After the meeting, the CM-designate Satheesan is expected to meet Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar and stake his claim to form the government.
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