Pinarayi Vijayan (born 24 May 1945) is an Indian politician of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) who was Chief Minister of Kerala from May 2016 to May 2026. A member of the party’s Politburo and its state secretary for a record seventeen years, he led the Left Democratic Front to victory in 2016 and again in 2021, when it became the first government in Kerala in four decades to win a second consecutive term. After the front’s defeat in 2026 he became Leader of the Opposition.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Pinarayi Vijayan |
| Born | 24 May 1945, Pinarayi, Kannur district, Kerala, India |
| Age | 81 |
| Party | Communist Party of India (Marxist) |
| Office | Chief Minister of Kerala (25 May 2016 – May 2026) |
| Current role | Leader of the Opposition, Kerala Legislative Assembly (since May 2026) |
| Constituency | Dharmadam |
| Education | Government Brennen College, Thalassery (B.A. Economics) |
| Spouse | Kamala Vijayan |
| Children | 2 (Vivek and Veena) |
Early Life
Vijayan was born in the village of Pinarayi in northern Kerala, the youngest child of Mundayil Koran, a toddy tapper, and Kalyani. The family was poor, and several of his siblings died young. After school he worked for a year as a handloom weaver before joining Government Brennen College in Thalassery, where he studied economics and became a leader of the Kerala Students Federation. He joined the CPI(M) in 1964, the year it was founded.
Political Career
He rose through the party’s youth wing and its Kannur district committee and was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Koothuparamba in 1970, at twenty-five. He won the seat again in 1977 and 1991. During the Emergency of 1975–77 he was arrested and beaten in police custody; on his release he went to the Assembly and held up his bloodstained shirt during a speech. From 1996 to 1998 he was Minister for Electricity and Co-operation in the government of E. K. Nayanar, where he was credited with adding generating capacity quickly.
In 1998 he became state secretary of the CPI(M), a post he held until 2015, and he joined the Politburo in 2002. These years were marked by a long factional contest with the veteran leader V. S. Achuthanandan; both men were briefly suspended from the Politburo in 2007. He was named as an accused in the SNC-Lavalin case, over a contract to renovate hydroelectric plants signed while he was minister. A special court discharged him in 2013 and the High Court upheld that order in 2017; an appeal by the Central Bureau of Investigation has remained before the Supreme Court.
The Left Democratic Front won the 2016 election and he took office on 25 May. His government dealt with a run of emergencies: Cyclone Ockhi, a Nipah virus outbreak, the floods of 2018, the worst in the state in nearly a century, and the Covid-19 pandemic. His daily televised briefings during these crises raised his standing. The government invested in public schools and hospitals, housing for the homeless through the LIFE Mission and infrastructure financed by the state fund KIIFB. Its handling of the Supreme Court’s 2018 judgment allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple, and a gold-smuggling case in 2020 that involved a former official of his office, were the main controversies of the first term.
In 2021 the front won 99 of the 140 seats. The second term was troubled by the state’s finances, disputes with the Union government over borrowing limits, opposition to the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail project and the Wayanad landslides of July 2024. In the election of April 2026 the Congress-led United Democratic Front won 102 seats and the Left 35. Vijayan retained Dharmadam, resigned as Chief Minister and was succeeded on 18 May 2026 by V. D. Satheesan.
Personal Life
He is married to Kamala, a retired schoolteacher, and they have a son, Vivek, and a daughter, Veena, who runs a software firm and is married to the CPI(M) leader P. A. Mohammed Riyas. Known for a stern manner and plain speech, he is often called “Captain” by his supporters.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Pinarayi Vijayan born?
Pinarayi Vijayan was born on 24 May 1945 in Pinarayi, Kannur district, Kerala, India and is 81 years old.
Featured image: Pinarayi Vijayan in March 2018, when he was Chief Minister of Kerala. Photo by Sanu N, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
