Congress picks VD Satheesan as Kerala Chief Minister after days of intense lobbying

There was drama and suspense till the last minute before the announcement of the decision, which came on the tenth day after the Assembly election results. While a meeting of the CLP was scheduled for 1 pm in Thiruvananthapuram, there were last-minute talks in Delhi involving all top leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, which delayed the meeting.

Venugopal reached Gandhi’s residence a little after 9 am. He remained there with Gandhi and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for over two hours, even as Dasmunsi, Wasnik, and Maken waited for the high command nod to proceed to the airport to board a special flight to Kerala.

As the Gandhis convinced Venugopal to back out of the race, senior AICC leaders reached out to Ramesh Chennithala, the third contender for the top post. Sources said Rahul himself spoke to Chennithala. While the Rahul-Venugopal meeting was underway, Congress communications head Jairam Ramesh reached Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s 10, Rajaji Marg residence, followed by Maken, Wasnik and Dasmunsi. This even as Satheesan was on his way to Thiruvananthapuram to attend the CLP meeting and Chennithala was closeted at his residence in the Kerala capital.

And then came the announcement that Kerala had waited for 10 days.

The three-way contest

Satheesan emerged as the Chief Minister in a three-way race, pipping to the post Venugopal and Chennithala, a former state LoP and Home Minister. Satheesan had the support of Congress’s allies, especially the Muslim League, which has 22 MLAs, and a large section of the party’s rank and file who believed that the UDF’s massive win in elections was shaped largely by the 61-year-old former Leader of the Opposition’s aggressive leadership and sustained political mobilisation across Kerala in the last five years.

Satheesan’s elevation came despite Venugopal, who is not an MLA, emerging as the preferred choice of a majority of the 63 newly elected MLAs of the Congress. Venugopal also had the backing of a majority of the MPs and a sizable section of the state leadership, but the high command has given importance and priority to public mood and the sentiments of the allies. A veteran, Chennithala had staked claim for the top post citing his seniority. In the end, the crown went to Satheesan.

A departure from norms

The decision to make Satheesan the Chief Minister is a departure from the Congress tradition of giving weightage to the views of MLAs in the selection of CMs as the high command was forced to factor in the public sentiment and the mood of the allies. The central leadership had departed from that tradition in Punjab in 2021 when it picked Charanjit Singh Channi for the Chief Minister’s post after the resignation of Captain Amarinder Singh despite Sunil Jhakhar reportedly securing the support of a majority of the MLAs in the Congress legislature party. In Channi, Punjab got its first Dalit chief minister. Jhakhar was then not an MLA.

The Congress high command has rarely sent sitting MPs as CMs in states after winning elections. The last instance was the appointment of Kamalnath as Madhya Pradesh chief minister in 2018, overlooking Jyotiraditya Scindia. Bhupinder Singh Hooda got the Haryana CM’s crown way back in 2005 when he was a Lok Sabha MP. In 2001, Tarun Gogoi was appointed as Chief Minister of Assam, although he was not an MLA. Venugopal’s elevation would have forced two by-elections: one for the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency, which he will have to vacate and one for an Assembly constituency that he will choose to get elected to the Kerala Assembly within six months.

KC Venugopal says ‘full support to Satheesan government’

Venugopal said he welcomed the leadership’s decision wholeheartedly and offered all support to Satheesan and his government. “I congratulate V D Satheesan. With so much expectation, the people of Kerala had given a big verdict in favour of the UDF. The UDF government under Satheesan will fulfill the promises and aspirations of the people. I offer that government all support,” he said.

#WATCH | Delhi: Congress General Secretary (Org) KC Venugopal says, “Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi discussed about the situation and the decision making process. They called me and asked me my opinion and we all discussed that… I am thanking the MLAs, party workers, party… pic.twitter.com/R2KG5q2MNC

— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2026

Asked about the support of MLAs he had received, Venugopal said: “All that are irrelevant now. My position all along has been that the high command will decide and I will accept that decision as a disciplined party worker, whatever that decision is. The high command has decided. I will now be part of implementing that decision. I am a die hard Congressman.”

On whether the decision to not appoint the chief minister on the basis of the majority views of the MLAs would set a precedent, “I don’t need to answer such questions. In many states, I was the person who announced such decisions…be it Karnataka, Telangana or Himachal. I kept away because it was Kerala… I accept this decision whole heartedly.”

Later, Satheesan addressed a press conference where he thanked the Congress leadership for trusting him with the top post and said that he always had Venugopal and Chennithala’s backing. “”I do not see this position as a personal achievement, but as something divine. It was KC Venugopal who coordinated all the activities of the AICC. His support was immense. Ramesh Chennithala is also my leader. I will take all of them into complete confidence. I seek the support of every section of people in Keralam. Only a collective effort can build a new Keralam. No one can do it alone; a team can achieve it,” he said.

Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam CM designate VD Satheesan says, “I do not see this position as a personal achievement, but as something divine. It was KC Venugopal who coordinated all the activities of the AICC. His support was immense. Ramesh Chennithala is also my leader. I will… pic.twitter.com/wQxJTXFN9i

— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2026