‘LDF is CPI’s child’: Binoy Viswam urges end to CPI-CPI(M) row over Deputy LoP post in Keralam

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has signaled its intention to resolve its long-standing dispute with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) over the post of Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly. This issue has threatened the stability of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) following the party's significant electoral loss in the 2026 Assembly elections.

CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam suggested that the two parties would expedite efforts to settle their differences and work together to "understand the reality" of the LDF's situation in Kerala. Viswam ruled out the possibility of the CPI forming a separate bloc within the Assembly. The rift between the two major LDF constituents intensified prior to the CPI(M)'s State committee meeting to analyze the election debacle, with the dispute stemming from the CPI(M)'s unilateral signing of the PM SHRI scheme without prior LDF consultation.

The CPI's mouthpiece, Janayugam, had previously advocated for a collective leadership structure in the LDF, while the CPI(M)'s Deshabhimani criticized the CPI for placing undue pressure on the coalition by demanding the Deputy Leader of the Opposition post.