The Satheesan Era: A Generational Shift in Kerala’s Leadership
A Pragmatic Choice Amidst Competition
The “102-Seat” Gambit: Vindicated by the Mandate
Though inordinately delayed, the Congress high command appears to have taken the right decision to appoint Satheesan as the new chief minister of Kerala. The contest was between AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan and the former leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala. Of the three Venugopal enjoys the majority support among the newly elected MLAs and the confidence of Rahul Gandhi. Venugopal is supported by 47 of the 63 Congress MLAs. He is not relatively old. He is 63. He has experience as a minister in Kerala and Delhi. In spite of ticking most of the boxes, he could not be selected. Satheesan who has the support of IUML which has 22 MLAs and other allies like Kerala Congress (Joseph) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party. All the allies have 32 seats between them. Muslim League ground force ensured that Rahul Gandhi won the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in 2019 and 2024. For the same reason Priyanka won in the Wayanad by-election following Rahul vacating the seat after 2024 election. He has grass root support. He is considered very popular with masses. Speaking to the media after the decision of the Congress high command was announced, IUML State chief Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab heartily congratulated Satheesan and said his party ‘fully supports the Congress decision.’ The BJP reiterated Narendra Modi’s description of the Congress at a Hyderabad public meeting as a ‘Muslim, Maoist Congress.’
Downplaying the delay in the decision making, Satheesan said “Democracy is a discourse. That is happening. Congress is a democratic party. That process is completed. They have discussed with all the MPs, MLAs and senior leaders and they have taken a decision”.
The Arithmetic of Alliance and Grassroots Power
Congress top brass seems to have convinced Venugopal to stay back in Delhi and continue his good work. Satheesan, who was the Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly, spearheaded the Congress campaign in the Assembly elections. The 61 years old leader declared amidst the campaign that “If the UDF does not win 100 seats (of the140 seats in the Assembly), I will quit politics and go into exile. Many colleagues in the party had scoffed at his statement but Satheesan had the last laugh. The UDF secured 102 seats with the Congress winning 63 seats making his prediction surprisingly accurate and a major point of his political leverage. It is the best ever score by the UDF in Kerala elections.
From Opposition Bulldog to Chief Minister
Satheesan who won from Paravur constituency in Ernakulam district for the sixth consecutive term has been the front runner in the race for chief minister. He first won Paravur in 2001 from CPI’s P. Raju and made it a Congress bastion. In the meetings and consultations at Tiruvananthapuram and New Delhi, Satheesan’s name has emerged on the top. When there was delay in finalizing the name of the new chief minister, the Congress workers in Kerala took to the streets and organized solidarity shows. Most of the activity was done by Satheesan’s followers. The MLAs who are known to be Venugopal’s supporters were heckled by the demonstrators. The party rank and file are with Satheesan. The party high commanded discouraged the street shows and hastened up the consultations. Had Venugopal been made the chief minister the party would have faced two by-elections. One, a sitting MLAs has to vacate his seat for Venugopal who is an MP from Alapuzza. And the seat in Lok Sabha which Venugopal has to resign will go for by-poll. That contingency is avoided.
In 2021 elections the LDF won for the second time and Pinarayi Vijayan continued as chief minister. The Congress which won only 21 MLAs was morally at the lowest ebb. At that time the party high command had appointed Satheesan as the leader of the Congress group. As the Leader of Opposition, Satheesan played a stellar role. He was behind the victories of the Congress party in the local body elections. In February this year, Satheesan undertook statewide tour to prepare the party cadre for the most important elections. He brought the social and caste groups that had drifted away from the Congress to the UDF fold. He tried to put energy into the other partners of the UDF besides rejuvenating the Congress. Particularly writers and social activists who distance themselves from the Congress were persuaded to come back and work for the success of the UDF.
A Vision for Governance and Reconciliation
The litmus test faced by Satheesan as the UDF leader was helping the UDF win the by-elections to Thrikkakara, Puthupally, Palakkad and Nilambur Assembly seats which were held from 2022 to2024. He also led the UDF to a landslide victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the local body polls. Satheesan maintained close contacts with the rural cadres of the party and also appointed the booth level leaders well in advance and spoke to them on continuous basis. He was secular to the core and his stand was opposed by community leaders like Vellappally Natesan. Other Congress leaders kept quiet leaving the responsibility to defend himself to Satheesan. Campaigning against the BJP’s bid to polarize the society on religious count, Satheesan did his best to keep the communal elements at bay.
With Vijayan emerging as undisputed leader of the CPM and the LDF, Satheesan’s confrontations with the chief minister were highlighted in political discourse and he became a hero of sorts. The party high command made a generational decision by appointing young leader like Satheesan as the leader of its legislature party. He proved to be an able and forward-looking leader who took the responsibility of winning the elections upon himself. The claims made by the chief minister on development were torn into pieces by Satheesan. He had to face the Left party’s wrath in social media but he had handled the attacks in his own way. The CPM leaders called him a liar and concentrated their verbal attacks on him.
Satheesan hails from Nettoor in Ernakulam district joined the Congress as a student leader. He was one of the national general secretaries of the NSUI. As an MLA during the LDF rule in 2006 – 2011, he attacked the lottery scandal and became famous because of the fearless speeches he delivered. He made his mark as a very powerful articulator among the opposition benches.
Commenting on his new role, Satheesan said, “We will cooperate with all of them. I don’t have any complaints against anybody. Those who criticize me it is their right. Not only the chief minister, the opposition leader also can be criticized”. Satheesan is likely to take oath as chief minister on the 18th, which means after 14 days of announcement of the election results.
Prominent Journalist
Dr. K. Ramachandra Murthy is a versatile journalist with a distinguished career. Dr. Murthy began his extensive career with Andhra Prabha of The Indian Express group in Bengaluru. He was editor of Udayam, Vaartha and Andhra Jyothy. Dr. Murthy founded and edited HMTV news channel and The Hans India, an English newspaper. He was also editorial director of the Telugu newspaper, Saakshi. He was awarded Ph. D for his research work in rural reporting. Dr. Murthy’s five decades in journalism showcases his influential roles across both print and electronic media. He wrote the political biography of NTR published by Harper Collins.
