VD Satheesan Dedicates Chief Ministership to Kerala, Vows Change

Speaking to IANS, Chief Minister-designate Satheesan said, "I am very grateful to the AICC leaders for entrusting me with this big responsibility. I dedicate my Chief Ministership to the people of Kerala. We will build a strong team that will work for the future of Kerala."

Responding to questions about the time taken by the Congress leadership to finalise the decision, Satheesan said the process involved extensive consultations and should not be seen as a delay.

"I cannot say that this was a delay. This is a process. Earlier, there was no such intense media and social media scrutiny. Sometimes, even fake news spreads. The leadership discussed the matter with former PCC presidents, working committee members, MLAs, and MPs before arriving at a decision," he said.

Satheesan also highlighted the economic challenges facing the state.

He said, "We are going through a very vulnerable period because the fiscal situation in Kerala is very poor. We have to make many changes. We have studied a lot, prepared documents, and discussed with experts. This is the first opposition in the history of India that, two years before the election, started our preparation."

Earlier in the day, the announcement was made in Delhi by Congress top leaders Deepadas Munshi, Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken.

The decision, delayed till the very edge of political exhaustion, was conveyed with characteristic Congress drama.

Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, who was in Delhi through the final rounds of consultations, was summoned for a meeting with Rahul Gandhi before being informed of the leadership decision. Senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, meanwhile, received the message through a closed-door telephone call from Rahul Gandhi that the race was over and Satheesan had got the nod.

For Satheesan, the elevation caps a remarkable political rise that mirrors the Congress party's attempt to reinvent itself in Kerala after years of factional fatigue and electoral setbacks.

Born in Kochi district and turning 62 later this month, Satheesan built his political identity not through backroom factional arithmetic but through relentless Assembly performances and organisational work.

A lawyer by profession, he entered the Assembly from Paravur in 2001 and soon earned a reputation as one of the Congress party's sharpest debaters.

Armed with statistics, sarcasm and theatrical timing, Satheesan became a familiar tormentor of the Left benches. Ironically, his biggest breakthrough came after one of the Congress party's darkest moments.

Following the UDF's crushing defeat in the 2021 Assembly elections, Satheesan was unexpectedly chosen as Leader of Opposition, initially viewed by many as a compromise candidate amid bitter internal rivalries.

Instead, he transformed the role into a political launch pad.

Whether it was the gold smuggling controversy, the AI camera allegations or repeated attacks on the Vijayan government over law and order, Satheesan steadily positioned himself as the most visible and aggressive face of anti-Left politics in Kerala. Unlike many Congress veterans, Satheesan was never seen as fully belonging to any faction in the party.

- IANS