Thiruvananthapuram, July 4 : The curtain has come down on the first session of Kerala's newly-elected Assembly with an outcome few had predicted. Contrary to expectations, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan emerged as the clear political winner, while Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan, who had dominated the House for a decade as an unchallenged Chief Minister, struggled to make an impact from the Opposition benches.

For nearly ten years, Vijayan towered over Assembly proceedings. Neither the Opposition led by Ramesh Chennithala during his first term nor later by Satheesan could consistently unsettle him.

The change in roles, however, appears to have dramatically altered the political equation.

In his maiden session as Leader of the Opposition, the 82-year-old veteran found many of his interventions blunted, with several Opposition strategies ending up strengthening the government's position instead.

The contrast has been striking. CM Satheesan, despite completing over 25 uninterrupted years in the Assembly without ever serving as a minister before assuming the Chief Minister's Office, displayed a firm grasp of legislative procedure and political strategy.

Time and again, he turned Opposition attacks into opportunities to put the Left Democratic Front (LDF) on the defensive.

Internal disarray within the LDF compounded the Opposition's difficulties.

The unresolved dispute between the CPI(M) and the CPI over the post of Deputy Leader of the Opposition has prevented even meetings of the LDF legislature party during the Assembly session.

The lack of coordination has left the Opposition without a coherent floor strategy.

The setbacks came in quick succession.

CPI leader K. Rajan's attempt to corner the government by displaying a bottle of muddy water, claiming police had sprayed protesters with it, collapsed after it emerged that the sample had been collected from a roadside pothole.

The episode became a source of embarrassment rather than political ammunition.

The confusion resurfaced during the debate on the Finance Bill incorporating tax concessions for low-alcohol beverages.

The Opposition accused the government of surreptitiously inserting the provision into the Bill.

But the Treasury benches countered by pointing out that the Business Advisory Committee, which included both Pinarayi Vijayan and K. Rajan had itself cleared the Bill for direct consideration without referring it to the Subject Committee.

Satheesan then delivered perhaps the session's most effective rebuttal, reminding the House that an identical legislative route had been adopted by the previous LDF government under former Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal.

The argument effectively neutralised the Opposition's charge.

Senior leaders within the Opposition privately admit that inadequate preparation, tactical miscalculations and persistent internal divisions have repeatedly squandered opportunities to corner the government.

If the opening session is any indication, Kerala's political script has undergone a dramatic reversal, with the once invincible Pinarayi Vijayan finding himself on unfamiliar ground and Satheesan firmly setting the tone of the new Assembly.

In the 140-member Assembly the UF has 102, the Left 35 and the BJP three members.

/IANS