THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (14.05.2026): Finally, the suspense is over as the Congress leadership has named V D Satheesan as the next Chief Minister of Kerala where alliance led by the party decisively won the Assembly elections. The announcement was made by Kerala in-charge of the Congress Deepa Dasmunshi in the presence of Congress leaders Ajay Maken, Mukul Wasnik and Jairam Ramesh.
Why V D Satheesan?
Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan will be the next CM of the state. His rapport with the people and support from grassroot workers clinched him the top job. The moment news reached the state that some more names were being considered, people took to the street demanding that only he should be made the CM. Any move denying Satheesan the coveted job would tantamount to denying him the credit for victory. The Congress’s poor performance in the Assembly elections in the Hindi heartland under Venugopal as General Secretary (Organisation) also come to the rescue of Satheesan.
MLA faced ire of people
Some of the newly elected MLAs who were identified as supporters of Venugopal faced protests from party workers in their constituencies who were forced to cut short or abandon their tours to thank voters for electing them. They were projected as leaders who were going against people’s mandate.
Why everything to Venugopal
Venugopal was serving as a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan and contested Lok Sabha election from Alappuzha in 2024. The Congress lost the Rajya Sabha seat as BJP had won Assembly election in Rajasthan. Had Venugopal been elected as the CM, he would have to get elected to Assembly. In such a situation, he would have to resign his LS membership and get elected to Assembly within six months making two by-elections necessary. This would have sent a wrong signal among electorates.
Public perception
The Congress had not announced a CM candidate in Kerala before elections, but Satheesan emerged an organic choice for the post over the past five years. The UDF’s win was seen as a vindication of Satheesan’s political stand on many issues. At a time when Congress leaders were reluctant to confront controversial anti-Muslim remarks made by influential Hindu leaders, Satheesan consistently warned against attempts to polarise Kerala’s politics. By openly challenging the vote-bank politics associated with leaders such as Vellappally Natesan and G Sukumaran Nair, he built an image of championing secular politics.
Stand of IUML
With strong secular credentials of Satheesan, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) with 22 legislators in the 102-strong UDF camp, put its weight behind him who has been leading the Opposition for the last five years. The Congress high command could ill afford the stand of the IUML, which acts as the Congress’s ground work force. The IUML played a major role in Rahul Gandhi’s massive victories from Wayanad in both 2019 and 2024, and later in Priyanka Gandhi’s by-election win from the same constituency.
How Many Contenders?
Though there were just two names remained in the last on which the final decision was to be made but actually there were many serious and non-serious names that did round for the post of Kerala CM. One of the most serious contenders for the top job in Kerala was K C Venugopal, the General Secretary (Organisation). Venugopal was the favourite of the high command of the Congress but political compulsion made the decision otherwise. Ramesh Chennithalla was another name who is not only senior but has a rich experience of the organisation. But he could not find favour either from the top leadership or from the organisation. K Muraleedharan too was in the reckoning for the post but his name disappeared after the results were announced. Shashi Tharoor wanted to throw his hat in the ring but his relations with Congress leadership never made him a serious choice ever.
