The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has appointed a Hindu leader as its Kerala state vice-president for the first time. Shyam Sundar, a native of Haripad in Alappuzha district, was elevated on October 7.

Sundar comes from a Left background. He served as state treasurer of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the youth wing of the CPI(M), and held a national-level post in the organisation. He joined the IUML in 2009 during a period of factionalism in the CPI(M).

After switching parties, he led the IUML’s farmers’ association in the state and later joined the party’s state secretariat, where he was in charge of Pathanamthitta district. The appointment came during a restructuring under the party’s one-person-one-post policy.

Under the policy, ministers and MLAs are stepping away from organisational posts. Ministers K.M. Shaji and N. Shamsudeen gave up their state secretary roles.

Party watchers read the move as a signal that the League wants to widen its base beyond its traditional Muslim social base as it pushes into southern Kerala.