Kerala’s IUML picks Hindu leader as state vice-president. Why it matters

On Wednesday, the IUML announced that 61-year-old C. Syam was its new state vice-president as part of its organisational reshuffle. (express photo)

3 min readThiruvananthapuramOct 8, 2026 07:20 AM IST First published on: Oct 8, 2026 at 07:20 AM IST

At a time when it faces Opposition allegations of communal polarisation and a push towards conservatism from within the Muslim community, Kerala’s United Democratic Alliance ally has made an unprecedented move — elevating a Hindu leader to one of its top positions. On Wednesday, the IUML announced that 61-year-old C. Syam was its new state vice-president as part of its organisational reshuffle.

A former state leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the youth wing of the Communist Party of India, Syam, a prominent Nair leader from central Keralam, has been with the IUML since 2010. The decision comes after the IUML divested all ministers and legislators of various organisational roles. Speaking to the media after his elevation, Syam said he was “happy with the new responsibility”.

“I’m the first non-Muslim to become the state vice president of the IUML. I have been with the party since 2010 and started my journey with the IUML as a local party worker. Over the last 15 years, the party has given me various roles, which I have discharged with utmost sincerity,” he said.

For the party, picking Syam for one of its top positions assumes significance, especially given the timing. The party finds itself in a difficult position — while the CPI (M) accuses it of communal polarisation, the IUML is also having to defend conservative positions amid growing pressure from Muslim clerics.

Who is C Syam

Syam belongs to a prominent upper-caste Hindu Nair political family from Alappuzha — the state’s first Assembly Speaker, R Sankara Narayanan Thambi, was his uncle.

At the IUML, Syam has been given charge of the Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts, where the party does not have a significant presence.

Although this is the first time a Hindu leader has taken a prominent position in the IUML, the party has had non-Muslim leaders and electoral candidates in the past. Last year, the outfit inducted Jayanthi Rajan, a Dalit woman, as a national assistant secretary, with the party even fielding her from the CPI(M) stronghold of Koothuparamba in this Assembly election. Although Jayanthi lost the election, she had managed to put up a formidable fight against the Left.

The IUML also backed a young Christian leader from the Congress, V S Joy, in the election in Thavanoor in Muslim-majority Malappuram. The support helped Joy beat the CPI(M)-backed independent and four-term MLA K T Jaleel in a seat where the Christian vote bank accounted for only 1.4 per cent of the total electorate.

For the election, IUML put its organisational machinery behind Joy, a non-Catholic Christian who had earlier struggled to find acceptance in Catholic-dominated constituencies when the Congress decided to field him there.