While spearheading the Congress-led UDF’s campaign in the Kerala Assembly elections, Leader of Opposition (LoP) V D Satheesan, 61, had declared that “If the UDF does not win 100 seats (of the state’s 140), I will quit politics and go into exile.”
His several Congress colleagues had then raised doubts about Satheesan’s claim, but when counting of votes ended Monday, the LoP had the last laugh. The UDF won 102 seats, which marked its best-ever tally in the state.
In the election, Satheesan, 61, has also won from his Paravur constituency in Ernakulam district for sixth consecutive term. While there are several chief ministerial aspirants in the Congress, he is widely considered to be a key front-runner in the race for the top post now.
In February this year, he had taken out a statewide tour in a bid to galvanise the Congress’s rank and file for the high-stakes elections, which seems to have yielded electoral dividends for the party.
Satheesan was appointed the LoP after the Congress lost the previous elections in 2021, when the incumbent CM Pinarayi Vijayan had led the CPI(M)-headed LDF to its second successive victory.
The Congress high command brought Satheesan to the helm of its legislature party as part of a generation shift to infuse confidence in the ranks of the party as well as the UDF. He went on to become the alliance’s undisputed leader.
For Satheesan, the task of reviving the UDF after its crushing 2021 defeat was daunting. His priority was to boost the morale of the workers of the party and allies. He focused on social engineering to make an outreach to several community and social organisations – including those comprising writers, social activists, and experts from various fields – which had earlier distanced from the UDF.
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His first test of leadership was in the by-elections to the Assembly seats, such as Thrikkakara, Puthuppally, Palakkad, and Nilambur, which were held from 2022 to 2024. He also led the UDF to landslide wins in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2025 local body polls.
Satheesan is seen to have played a key role in rejuvenating the Congress at the grassroots level. The party’s booth committees were reactivated before elections and the leaders of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and District Congress Committees (DCCs) were given charge of booths acros the state. He also maintained regular contact with district-level party leaders, gave them directions and monitored progress. During the campaigning, while most of the Congress leaders in the fray were confined to their seats, Satheesan criss-crossed the state across all the constituencies.
His strong secular stand drew the ire of prominent community leaders like Vellappally Natesan in the state. While other Congress leaders remained silent, his unflinching position against polarisation in society boosted his appeal cutting across sections and communities.
In his role as a Congress legislator over the years, Satheesan has led multiple debates, emerging as the voice of Opposition against the Left dispensation. It was such interventions in the House that helped Satheesan emerge as the party’s key face. For questioning various development claims of the Vijayan government, Satheesan often faced severe attacks from the Left supporters on social media.
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Satheesan, who hails from Nettoor in Ernakulam, joined the Congress through his stint in student politics. He had been one of the national secretaries of the party’s student wing NSUI.
When the Congress got embroiled in various scandals during the UDF government’s tenure from 2011 to 2016, Satheesan had been a rebel voice in the party. He also stood for green politics and spoke against party leaders turning “subservient” before community leaders. He was against community leaders meddling in the Congress affairs and in its selection of candidates.
He also pitched to bring merit as the yardstick in giving seats for party leaders. Satheesan is also known as a “bookworm politician”. He had come out with a list of 60 books, both in English and Malayalam, that he read in 2025.
Shaju Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, where he leads the publication's coverage from Kerala. With over 25 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political, religious, and developmental landscape of South India.
Expertise, Experience, and Authority
Decades of Regional Specialization: Shaju has spent more than two decades documenting the "Kerala Model" of development, its complex communal dynamics, and its high-stakes political environment.
Key Coverage Beats: His extensive reporting portfolio includes:
Political & Governance Analysis: In-depth tracking of the LDF and UDF coalitions, the growth of the BJP in the state, and the intricate workings of the Kerala administration.
Crime & Investigative Journalism: Noted for his coverage of high-profile cases such as the gold smuggling probe, political killings, and the state’s counter-terrorism efforts regarding radicalization modules.
Crisis Management: He has led ground-level reporting during major regional crises, including the devastating 2018 floods, the Nipah virus outbreaks, and the Covid-19 pandemic response. ... Read More
