Pinarayi Vijayan, Binoy Viswam lock horns over Deputy Leader of the Opposition post

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The vexing issue of which party would get the Deputy Leader of the Opposition post in the Keralam Assembly is roiling the Left Democratic Front (LDF), with Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan and Communist Party of India (CPI) State secretary Binoy Viswam locking horns over the matter on Saturday (August 22, 2026).

Mr. Vijayan told the media in Thrissur on Saturday morning that there was no doubt that the post of Deputy Leader of the Opposition would go to his party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which leads the Opposition front. He summarily ruled out any chance of the post being given to the CPI, the second-largest constituent of the alliance, which has been vociferous in its demand for the position.

Mr. Vijayan said the only requirement left now was to submit a letter to the Speaker naming the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. “I will write and submit the letter, after which the Deputy Leader of the Opposition will assume charge,” he told the media.

While he refused to hazard a guess on who would be chosen for the post, he said there was no ambiguity that it would be a CPI(M) leader.

Later in the day, Mr. Viswam told the media in Thiruvananthapuram that he would not believe Mr. Vijayan would say what he was quoted as saying. “But if he had indeed said that, I would humbly state that it was unbecoming of the Leader of the Opposition to have said so and that it was not in keeping with his political maturity,” Mr. Viswam said.

He made it clear that the post of Deputy Leader of the Opposition was a contentious issue within the LDF. To a question, he said no politician or media house had the right to put a price on the CPI’s self-respect.

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