Congress Picks VD Satheesan Over KC Venugopal As Kerala Chief Minister

VD Satheesan it is. The Congress' Kerala Chief Minister suspense is over. The 61-year-old, former Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, is Congress' pick, beating competition from KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala.

The decision was expected last evening. It was then pushed to Thursday. Finally, the name was announced today, ending the 10-day suspense.

Satheesan, who has never held a ministerial position, credited his big elevation to the support from Team UDF (United Democratic Front). 

"I achieved this with the support of lakhs of Congress workers and team UDF," he said soon after his elevation.

Read: How VD Satheesan Turned A Defeated Alliance Into A Winning Force

KC Venugopal, seen as Rahul Gandhi's No. 2 in the party and a contender for the top post, expressed confidence with the party's decision. 

"I am fully satisfied. I will stand with the high command decision," Venugopal, MP from Alappuzha, said after the announcement was made in favour of Satheesan.

"I congratulate Satheesan on being selected as Kerala Chief Minister, will provide all support to him and UDF govternment," he added.

The delay in Kerala over the Chief Minister's choice was reminiscent of the situation in Karnataka, where the top post became a tug-of-war between Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, leading to unending friction between the two and their supporters.

VD Satheesan, who is the choice of the people as well as the Congress's Kerala ally and UDF constituent IUML (Indian Union Muslim League), was not ready to accept a secondary role, sources close to him told NDTV.

It is noteworthy that Wayanad was traditionally a seat held by the IUML, which they ceded - at the Congress party's request -first for Rahul Gandhi and subsequently for Priyanka Gandhi. Given that Muslim voters play a decisive role in this constituency, the Congress party is taking the IUML's views very seriously. The party won 22 seats.

Read: Wayanad To Be Next Amethi: Posters Warn Gandhis On Kerala Chief Minister Pick

The announcement comes 10 days after Congress-led United Democratic Front, or UDF, secured a more than two-thirds majority (102 seats) in the Kerala Assembly elections. Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democractic Front, or LDF, missed out on a hat-trick of poll wins in the state.

The CPI(M), the largest party in the opposition, is yet to pick the Leader of Opposition as there are voices against nominating Pinarayi Vijayan, who led the Left front campaign. The party says Politburo will decide.

Satheesan, a six-time MLA, enjoys massive backing from Congress workers, the public, and party cadres at the ground level. Many viewed the UDF mandate as a personal endorsement of his leadership style and oratory.

Senior leaders such as AK Antony, VM Sudheeran and K Muraleedharan reportedly urged the leadership to take public sentiment into account, which favoured Satheesan.

A practicing lawyer at the High Court of Kerala, Satheesan first got elected to the Kerala Assembly from North Paravur, Ernakulam District in 2001. He has represented the Paravur constituency for 25 years, this being his sixth consecutive term. 

He was Chairman of the MG University Union representing Kerala Students Union, the youth wing of the Indian National Congress.