The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has entered Kerala's escalating intra-Left dispute, with senior leader and former legislator K.P.A. Majeed publicly backing the Communist Party of India (CPI) in its bitter face-off with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] over the post of Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Writing in the IUML mouthpiece Chandrika on Saturday, 29 August, Majeed accused CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan of treating the smaller Left ally as a subordinate within the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

The Dispute at the Centre

The CPI, which holds eight seats in the 140-member Kerala Assembly against the CPI(M)'s 26, has staked its claim to the Deputy Leader of Opposition post as the second-largest constituent of the opposition alliance. Pinarayi Vijayan has flatly rejected the demand, asserting that the post would go to a CPI(M) leader and that it was not the CPI's place to even raise the matter.

Majeed contended that Vijayan's stance — that he alone would decide which CPI(M) leader should occupy the post — amounted to the larger party assuming the role of a 'master' within the front. 'Nobody with a basic understanding of Kerala politics would accept the idea that CPI leaders should simply bow before the CPI(M) and obey its commands,' he argued.

A Pattern of Marginalisation, Majeed Argues

Majeed went beyond the immediate post-sharing row to document what he described as the CPI's steady marginalisation within the LDF over the past 25 years. He pointed out that the key organisational posts of LDF chairman and LDF convener had also remained with the CPI(M), leaving the CPI with little structural weight inside the alliance.

He also recalled the PM SHRI controversy during the previous LDF government, noting that the CPI had opposed the agreement signed by Pinarayi Vijayan and V. Sivankutty — and that the party's objections had been routinely disregarded.

Historical Claims and the Achutha Menon Legacy

Majeed invoked the legacy of the C. Achutha Menon government (1970–77) — in which the Congress was also a partner — to underscore the CPI's foundational role in Kerala's development. He credited the CPI-led administration with laying the groundwork for the state's advances in education, healthcare, and land reform.

Critically, he accused the CPI(M) of deliberately sidelining Achutha Menon's contributions and attributing the credit for land reforms almost entirely to E.M.S. Namboodiripad and K.R. Gouri Amma — a charge that sharpens the historical dimension of the current rift.

What Majeed Said About the CPI's Future

Majeed stopped short of calling for the CPI to exit the LDF, but said the question of whether the party should remain in the alliance or explore alternatives deserved open discussion — and only after the CPI itself declared its position. He dismissed fears that any such move would benefit the rival United Democratic Front (UDF), arguing that the first 100 days of the V.D. Satheesan government had shown the UDF was capable of representing the Left space in Kerala.

'Merely attaching the LDF label does not make an alliance Left-wing,' Majeed wrote, in what analysts read as a pointed signal to both fronts.

Shockwaves Across the Left

The IUML intervention coincides with fresh salvos from within the Left itself. Veteran CPI former state minister C. Divakaran had already shaken the LDF by publicly asking who Pinarayi Vijayan was to decide the Deputy Leader post unilaterally. The LDF convenor has since appealed to both sides to exercise restraint and resolve the matter through internal discussions — a sign that the public fracture is proving difficult to contain.

With the IUML now weighing in from outside the front, the dispute over a single legislative post has widened into a broader question about power-sharing norms and the long-term cohesion of Kerala's Left alliance.