CPI(M) senior leader and local administration minister M V Govindan Master has been appointed as the party's state secretary.
He is replacing Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who is stepping down due to health problems.
The decision was made following a CPI(M) state committee meeting held here, in Thiruvananthapuram, which was attended by senior leaders including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as well as CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.
Master's appointment as the party's state secretary would also mean a state cabinet reshuffle may be in the offing.
A native of party stronghold Kannur, Master is also a member of CPI(M) central committee. The 69-year-old leader is a third-time MLA as well.
Balakrishnan, who is a politburo member of CPI(M), was re-elected as party state secretary for the third consecutive term in March. He has been undergoing treatment for cancer.
He had kept off from the party secretary post for a brief period earlier also, citing health reasons, even as it was alleged that the arrest of his younger son Bineesh Kodiyeri by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with links with a Bengaluru-based drug trafficking racket was the reason for him to take a break.