Pinarayi Vijayan, the former Chief Minister of Kerala, was elected as the leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] legislature party on Thursday. This decision was made during a meeting of the CPI(M) state committee, which included prominent leaders such as CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby and A Vijayaraghavan, and was presided over by K Radhakrishnan. Following this election, Vijayan is anticipated to be appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly. The Left Democratic Front (LDF), which Vijayan led, faced a significant defeat in the recent state Assembly elections, securing only 35 seats out of 140. In contrast, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) achieved a decisive victory with 102 seats, paving the way for the formation of the new government. V D Satheesan, the former Leader of the Opposition, has been nominated by the Congress high command to serve as the new Chief Minister of Kerala.