The BRICS TimesAfter over ten days of intense back-and-forth deliberations between Delhi and Kerala, the Congress party finally broke its silence VD Satheesan, the six-time MLA from Paravur, will lead Kerala as its next Chief Minister following the UDF’s historic landslide in the 2026 Assembly elections.
A Wait That Tested Everyone’s Patience
It took more than ten days and countless flights between Thiruvananthapuram and Delhi but Congress finally put the suspense to rest. VD Satheesan will be Kerala’s next Chief Minister. The Congress Legislative Party named him its leader on Thursday, May 14, clearing the path to form the new state government. The United Democratic Front swept the April 9 Kerala Assembly elections winning 102 of 140 seats. Yet, the party spent over a week unable to announce its Chief Minister. Leaders lobbied. Workers protested on the ground. And all of Kerala waited.
Three Names, One Chair
The tussle for the top post narrowed down to three prominent names. AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, and Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan all three were in the race. Rahul Gandhi held separate one-on-one discussions with multiple Kerala leaders. He also met around eight former state Congress chiefs to read the political pulse before the high command inched toward a final call. The CLP meeting originally scheduled for 1 PM was pushed to 4 PM on Thursday. Party observers flew in from Delhi on a chartered aircraft to reach Thiruvananthapuram in time.
Public Sentiment Tipped the Scale
Behind the scenes, the battle was fierce. Reports suggest an attempt was made to paint Satheesan’s grassroots support marches as manufactured allegedly to turn the Delhi high command against him. But senior Congress leaders in Delhi were briefed otherwise. A highly placed source confirmed that top party figures were told the public outpouring of support for Satheesan was “spontaneous and not engineered.” On the other hand, a news channel reportedly close to the Congress kept running stories about Satheesan’s alleged meeting with a top Adani official. The allegations remained unverified but kept the rumour mill spinning.
Alliance Partners Read the Room
One telling sign of Satheesan’s inevitable selection came from the Muslim League. The alliance partner had scheduled a high-level internal meeting on Wednesday evening widely expected to be a gathering where rebellion would be signalled if Satheesan was chosen. But the League cancelled that meeting well before any formal announcement. The message was clear: the League had received assurances from Congress leadership that “public sentiment would not be subverted.” In the political language of this saga, ‘public sentiment’ was consistently used as code for ‘Satheesan as CM.’
The NSS Factor and Why It Backfired
NSS General Secretary Sukumaran Nair rushed to hold a press conference minutes after Congress’s Jairam Ramesh announced the CM pick would be declared Thursday. Nair lashed out at the Muslim League for what he called interference in Congress’s internal affairs. But observers read the timing differently. The NSS supremo had on multiple occasions expressed his discomfort with Satheesan and Satheesan, in return, had made no secret of his belief that community organisations should be kept at arm’s length from political decisions. Nair’s last-minute press conference looked to many like a final, unsuccessful attempt to influence the high command’s choice.
Who Is VD Satheesan?
Born in 1964 in Nettoor, near Kochi, Satheesan’s political journey is deeply rooted in grassroots Congress work far removed from the drawing rooms of Delhi. He rose through the Youth Congress ranks and built a name as a sharp debater and a tenacious organiser. He first won the Paravur Assembly seat in Ernakulam district in 2001 and has held it ever since winning six consecutive elections. In 2026, he secured 78,658 votes defeating CPI’s ET Taison Master by a commanding margin of 20,600 votes. After the 2021 Assembly poll drubbing, Congress appointed Satheesan as Leader of the Opposition. He used that platform to regroup the party winning crucial by-elections and steering the UDF to sweep the 2025 local body polls, including four corporations.
Congress Stakes Its Claim
With Satheesan formally named as the legislative party leader, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee moved swiftly. KPCC President Sunny Joseph sought an appointment with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Thursday evening to stake the formal claim to form the government. For Congress which last held power in Kerala before 2016 this marks a return after a decade. For Satheesan who once said “no one will see me again” if the UDF didn’t win big it is a promise kept.
