The Congress on Thursday announced the selection of V D Sathisan as Kerala Chief Minister after days of discussions for the top post which was also being contested by senior leaders KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala.
Congress leaders Ajay Maken, Mukul Wasnik and Deepa Dasmunshi announced the selection of VD Sathisan as the leader of the Kerala Legislative Party (CLP) on Thursday, paving the way for him to be sworn in as the state’s chief minister.
The decision marks a rare case where the Congress high command was unable to install its preferred choice as chief minister, despite initial reports suggesting that an overwhelming majority of MLAs supported Venugopal for the post.
A senior Congress leader told HT that while Venugopal was the preferred choice of the Congress high command, especially Rahul Gandhi, Sathisean enjoyed popular support and enjoyed the backing of the party organization and allies including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Who is VD Sathisan?
According to publicly available information, Congress leader Sathisan is a lawyer from Kerala who served as the Leader of the Opposition in the state legislature from 2021 to 2026.
He represents Paravur constituency in Ernakulam district and has been elected MLA several times since 2001. He won from the seat in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections as well.
Sathisan had widespread support among party ranks as well as key allies such as the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Kerala Congress (Joseph).
Born in 1964 in Nattur, near Kochi, Sathisean studied social work and law before practicing law in the Kerala High Court. He reportedly rose through student politics and the Congress organisation, including the National Students Union of India (NSUI) – the student wing of the party.
In recent weeks, Sathisan has been in the national spotlight as the main contender for the Kerala Chief Minister’s post following the strong showing of the Congress-led United Democratic Front in the 2026 Lok Sabha elections.
At a meeting in Delhi earlier this week, Venugopal had the support of six of the party’s nine leaders, while two leaders – K Muraleedharan and VM Sudheeran – supported VD Sathisan, one of whom remained neutral.
While Venugopal had the support of a majority of elected Congress members, Sathisean had widespread support among the party’s ranks as well as key allies such as the World Muslim League and the Kerala Congress (Joseph).
The Congress won 63 of the United Democratic Front’s 102 seats in the recently concluded state elections.
Sathisan, who has built an inseparable political identity from Paravur over the years, has held many positions.
Hehas served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and Estimates Committee of the Kerala Assembly, and was also Secretary of the AICC in charge of Tamil Nadu, according to the Manorama report, which added that he later served as Vice-Chairman of KPCC for five years.
In 2016, Sathisean was appointed as the Congress Legislative Party chief in the Oommen Chandy-led United Democratic Front government – ultimately marking a crucial turning point for him in 2021.
Following the UDF’s defeat in the 2021 elections to the LDF, the Congress high command reportedly bypassed several senior leaders and chose Sathisean as the leader of the opposition, signaling a major generational shift within the Kerala unity.
