Thiruvananthapuram: Congress’s V.D. Satheesan, contender for the chief minister’s post in Kerala, won Paravur, while his party colleague and fellow contender for the top post, Ramesh Chennithala, was declared the winner in Haripad, according to Election Commission Monday.
Satheesan, leader of the opposition in Kerala who has been representing the constituency since 2001, won against E.T. Taison Master of the Communist Party of India (CPI).
In Haripad, Chennithala secured 68,184 votes. He won by a margin of 23,377 against CPI’s T. T. Jismon who secured 44,807 votes. Chennithala has been representing the seat since 2011.
Congress-led UDF scripted a comeback in Kerala, where it was in the opposition for the past 10 years. Though the party had been pinning its hopes on the anti-incumbency sentiment against the Left government, it had faced setbacks after infighting for the CM’s post came to the fore before and after the elections.
Posters in public spaces and on social media had appeared supporting both the leaders at times. Similarly, senior leader K. C. Venugopal, who is the Lok Sabha MP representing Alappuzha, also remains a top contender for the post, though he didn’t contest in the polls.
A race before the elections
Riding on the massive boost it received in the 2025 local body polls, where it swept the polls, the Congress began its preparation for the Assembly polls early. However, the party ran into trouble closer to the polls, as it couldn’t announce the candidates after many MPs showed interest in contesting. The party also maintained that its high command will decide the Chief Minister after the results are announced.
This included former Kerala unit president and senior leader K. Sudhakaran, who had also expressed interest in becoming the Chief Minister and to contest from Kannur. Sudhakaran is currently the Kannur MP. When this was denied by the leadership, the leader often took it to the public, including an emotional Facebook post in which he detailed his bond with Kannur and his political journey.
Following this, several other leaders, including Attingal MP Adoor Prakash, also showed interest. After days of speculation and controversy, the party leadership decided not to give tickets to the sitting MPs, after which it announced its candidates list.
Similarly, Congress leader K.C. Venugopal is also considered to be vying for the post. The senior leader, who was a former Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan, had quit the post to contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Alappuzha, which marked his return to Kerala politics after a gap.
Born in Kannur, he was first elected to the Kerala Assembly from Alappuzha in 1996. He represented the constituency consecutively till 2006. In the 2009 and 2014 general elections, Venugopal was elected from the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency, which also saw his tenure as a Union minister under the Manmohan Singh government for a brief period.
In April 2017, he was chosen as general secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and later was nominated as a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan in June 2020. Post-2024 victory, the leader has been constantly involved in the party’s organisational matters and decisions in Kerala, which led to a perception that he was eyeing the CM post.
This became apparent soon after polls were concluded, when a section of Congress functionaries, including Sudhakaran himself, party spokesperson Sandeep Varier, issued social media posts endorsing Venugopal’s leadership.
It was shortly followed by similar posts, posters, and social media war for Satheesan and Chennithala as the CM candidates.
(Edited by Tony Rai)