Congress leader KC Venugopal on Thursday welcomed the party high command’s decision to appoint VD Sathisan as the next Chief Minister of Kerala, ending days of intense speculation over the leadership race within the Congress.
“The final decision has come and the Congress high command has decided that V D Sathisan will be the chief ministerial candidate for the Kerala government. I welcome this decision with all my heart,” Venugopal told reporters in Delhi shortly after the announcement.
Congratulating Sathisean, Venugopal said the people of Kerala had delivered a “huge judgment” in favor of the United Democratic Front and expressed confidence that the new government would fulfill the aspirations of the people. “Certainly, we fully support the Keralam government,” he said.
Sathisan’s elevation came after an 11-day deadlock in the wake of the May 4 Assembly election results, during which Venugopal was widely seen as the preferred choice of sections of the Congress high command, including Rahul Gandhi. However, Sathisan eventually gained wider support from allies and party workers amid strong public sentiment in his favour.
Who is VD Sathisan?
Sathisan served as Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly before the United Democratic Front’s decisive victory in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections. The alliance won 102 seats in the 140-member assembly.
With the announcement of the next Kerala Cabinet, the Congress Kerala Committee will meet Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlikar today and demand formation of the government.
Satheesan won the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections from Paravur constituency, securing his sixth consecutive term as an MLA.
Satheesan polled 78,658 votes and defeated CPI candidate ET Taison Master by 20,600 votes. He has represented the Paravur constituency for 25 years, having first won the seat in 2001.
As the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly since 2021, Sathisean has emerged as a prominent face of the United Democratic Front (UDF) campaign against the ruling Left government. He has been an outspoken critic of the state government on various political and administrative issues.
He also served as Vice-Chairman of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and succeeded Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala as Leader of the Opposition after the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections.
Born in 1964 in Nettur, near Kochi, Sathisan is a lawyer. He started his political journey through the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and later became active in the Youth Congress.
