New Delhi: Congress leader V.D. Satheesan has put the ball in the Congress leadership’s court to decide the next chief minister in Kerala, saying that he was “not making any claim”.
In an interview to ThePrint, Satheesan said his job was simply to bring back the United Democratic Front (UDF) to power when he took over in 2021, and that he is “proud of the mandate.”
“I am not making any claim,” the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the outgoing Kerala Assembly said Tuesday, as the suspense continued over who gets the coveted top post.
While he himself maintains that he is not staking claim to the post, posters projecting him as the next CM have appeared in public places, the latest one being outside Cliff House, the official residence of the chief minister. A social media campaign is underway by a section of party workers and supporters, crediting him as the sole architect of the party’s victory.
After the Congress-led UDF has secured 102 of the total 140 seats, the focus has now shifted to the CM contenders—Satheesan, senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal
For Chennithala, this could be his last chance to become the chief minister. The leader’s camp has been positioning him as the best suited for the post due to his seniority and administrative experience. On Wednesday, the 69-year-old leader met LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi.
Another strong contender is Venugopal, with Congress insiders confirming that he has the backing of over 40 MLAs. Considered close to Rahul, the Alappuzha MP’s interest in Kerala has been apparent in the past one year, as he has made multiple interventions in party decisions, including selection of candidates.
On the face of it, Satheesan maintained that there will not be any tussle for the post. “Congress is a national party; there is a procedure adopted by the AICC to declare a CM candidate. That procedure starts today and may take three or four days. Whoever they announce will be the Chief Minister of Kerala,” he said.
The AICC, according to Congress leaders, is set to announce the chief minister on Sunday. The party high command Wednesday appointed senior leaders Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken as observers to consult with MLAs, which was done Thursday.
“V.D.Satheesan was able to set the narrative early on itself. The people voted for his leadership. It was not about arrogance, but about taking a strong stance when needed,” a Congress functionary said, adding that the 30-day Puthuyuga Yatra (New Age March) he undertook in February showed a different side of him, one that was affable and accessible.
Another AICC functionary said Satheesan was updating himself about ‘Gen Z lingo’ and even preparing himself to connect better with younger voters in the run up to the polls.
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Political journey
Hailing from Nettoor in Ernakulam district, Satheesan’s political journey began with an unsuccessful candidature in the 1996 Kerala polls. He tasted success from Paravur in 2001. Since then, he has emerged victorious from the seat in consecutive polls, with 20,000-plus vote margins in the last two elections.
Satheesan became the LoP, succeeding Chennithala in 2021 after the Congress suffered defeats in two successive Assembly polls. Once called ‘arrogant’ by his party functionaries, he is now credited with the party’s several victories since then, including four of the five bypolls, the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and the recently concluded Assembly polls.
For instance, in the 2025 Nilambur assembly bypoll, Satheesan decided to keep P.V. Anvar away from the UDF before the polls, though the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and some Congress leaders wanted him accommodated.
The decision to keep Anvar out eventually proved right after the UDF won without his support, ensuring that the narrative was not dominated by him. The episode marked Satheesan’s ascendancy and was seen as proof of his capability to take tough decisions.
In fact, Satheesan was the only leader who repeatedly said the Congress would win over 100 Assembly seats, He went to the extent of saying that he would retire from political life if the Congress did not win, often inviting criticism from opponents.
“When I predicted the UDF would get more than 100 seats, there was a political base for that claim. I think there was a huge anti-incumbency against the government; that is a negative factor. On the other hand, we have been criticising and exposing the government many times,” he told ThePrint.
The 61-year-old added that the party’s steadfast secular stand helped as well, noting that the Congress party was able to take a strong stand when community leaders made communal remarks.
Last year, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan had sparked a controversy after saying that Malappuram was like a “separate nation” and that backward communities were living in fear there. Satheesan hit back at the social service organisation, contending that community leaders should not divide society.
“We have taken an adamant secular stand. We told all religious leaders who were speaking communal things: ‘No. You should not speak for communal divide. Stop your hate campaigns.’ Thousands of people, including youngsters, accepted that position,” he said.
Now, with the Congress government coming to power, Satheesan said the primary priority was to fill the exchequer.
“Kerala’s fiscal situation is very vulnerable. Filling the exchequer is the prime duty. Health and education are going down. We want Kerala to be a destination point for health and education to stop the brain drain,” he said.
“We plan to institute a Global Job Watch Tower with experts to restructure the curriculum and associate with corporates. We also have a major project to make Kerala a ‘port state’ like Singapore or Seattle using our coastline and rivers.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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