5 reasons the Congress chose Satheesan as Kerala chief minister
New Delhi: Ending the 10-day suspense over who will be the next Kerala chief minister, the Congress Thursday chose Leader of Opposition in the last Assembly, V. D. Satheesan over his principal contender, All India Congress Committee general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal, primarily for five reasons.
First, six-term MLA Satheesan had led the Congress-led UDF’s poll campaign and enjoyed popular support. He had declared that if the UDF failed to win less than 100 of Kerala’s 140 seats, he would “quit politics and go into exile”. The alliance eventually crossed that mark, winning 102 seats, with the Congress emerging as the single largest party with 63 seats.
As LoP in the Assembly, he was the principal opposition voice against the previous Pinarayi Vijayan-led government. While Venugopal enjoyed proximity with Rahul Gandhi, it was Satheesan who had laid the groundwork in Kerala for the UDF’s return to power after 10 years.
Congress’ grassroots workers were out on the roads in protest in Kerala over the possibility of Venugopal becoming the CM. Sensing the public sentiment, the Congress leadership opted for Satheesan.
Second, Satheesan had the backing of key UDF constituents, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) with 22 MLA, Kerala Congress (Joseph) with seven MLAs and the Revolutionary Socialist Party with 3 MlAs. They had gone public supporting Satheesan for CM. Therefore, for the Congress leadership, choosing Satheesan was crucial for alliance management, as ignoring the preference of key UDF partners could have created friction within the coalition at the very start of the tenure.
Third, although K. C. Venugopal has won three Assembly and three Lok Sabha elections from Kerala, he has come to be largely seen as ‘Delhi’s man’ over the past decade or so, because of his proximity to Rahul Gandhi. He has been an AICC general secretary since 2017, largely involved in national politics. In fact, he did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election and became a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan the next year.
Fourth, choosing Venugopal as chief minister would have immediately pushed the Congress into two fresh elections. Since Venugopal is currently a Lok Sabha MP from Alappuzha and not an MLA, he would have had to resign from Parliament and contest an Assembly bypoll within six months to continue as CM—carrying the political risk of losing after already being sworn in as chief minister. Kerala doesn’t have a Legislative Council. Venugopal had chosen to relinquish his Rajya Sabha seat to successfully contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
His elevation as CM would also have forced the Congress to simultaneously fight a Lok Sabha by-election in Alappuzha.
At a time when the Congress has struggled electorally in several other states, many leaders felt the party could not risk another electoral test. Satheesan, already an MLA and Leader of Opposition, offered the Congress a far smoother and safer transition into government.
Fifth, another factor that strengthened Satheesan’s case was his consistent projection as a secular leader at a time when communal polarisation has increasingly become part of Kerala’s political discourse. Over the last few years, Satheesan repeatedly attacked both the BJP and the CPI(M) for allegedly indulging in communal politics.
His ideological positioning also closely matched the Congress leadership’s broader national pitch, particularly Rahul Gandhi’s repeated emphasis on secularism, social justice and resistance to communal politics.
Satheesan was among the few Congress leaders who consistently “walked the talk” when it came to ideology. He increasingly embodied the Congress’s ideological position more clearly than any other contender in the state.
While several other state leaders often maintained a softer or more cautious line on sensitive political issues, Satheesan regularly translated the party’s national messaging into aggressive on-ground political action in Kerala.
For the party leadership, projecting him as chief minister also ensured continuity between the Congress’ national political messaging and its most important electoral victory in recent years.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Congress finally takes a call 10 days after poll results. VD Satheesan set to be Kerala’s 13th CM
