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Who is VD Satheesan? Paravur MLA beats Congress leader KC Venugopal in Kerala CM race
Congress on Thursday named VD Satheesan as its pick for Kerala CM post, marking a rare instance of failing to install its preferred choice.
The Congress on Thursday announced VD Satheesan as its Kerala chief minister pick after days of discussions for the top post for which senior leaders KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala were also in the running.
Congress leaders Ajay Maken, Mukul Wasnik and Deepa Dasmunshi announced the selection of VD Satheesan as the leader of Kerala legislature party (CLP)on Thursday, paving the way for his oath-taking as state chief minister.
The decision marks a rare instance 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 backed 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, Satheesan enjoyed the public support and enjoyed the backing of the party organization and the allies including Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Who is VD Satheesan?
According to publicly available information senior Congress leader Satheesan is a lawyer from Kerala who served as the Leader of the Opposition in the state legislative assembly from 2021 to 2026.
He represents the Paravur constituency in Ernakulam district and has been elected MLA multiple times since 2001. He won from the seat in the 2026 Kerala assembly election as well.
Satheesan has had wide support among the party rank as well as key allies like the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Kerala Congress (Joseph).
Born in 1964 in Nettoor near Kochi, Satheesan studied social work and law before practising as an advocate in the Kerala high court. He reportedly rose through student politics and the Congress organisation, including the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) — party's student wing.
In recent weeks, Satheesan has been in the national spotlight as a leading contender for the Kerala chief minister's post after the Congress-led UDF's strong performance in the 2026 assembly elections.
In a meeting held in Delhi earlier this week, Venugopal was backed by six of the nine party leaders, while two leaders – K Muralidharan and VM Sudheeran – supported VD Satheesan, and one remained neutral.
While Venugopal had the backing of the majority of the elected Congress MLAs, Satheesan has had wide support among the party rank as well as key allies like the IUML and Kerala Congress (Joseph).
The Congress won 63 of the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) 102 seats in the recently concluded state elections.
Satheesan, who has built a political identity of being inseparable from Paravur over the years, has held many posts.
Hehas served as chairman of the Kerala Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee and Estimates Committee and was also AICC secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, according to a Manorama report, which added that he later served as KPCC vice-president for five years.
In 2016, Satheesan was appointed as the chief whip of the Congress Legislature Party in the Oommen Chandy-led UDF government — which ultimately led to a defining turning point for him in 2021.
After the UDF’s defeat in the 2021 elections against the LDF, the Congress high command reportedly bypassed several senior leaders and picked Satheesan as Leader of the Opposition, indicating a major generational shift within the Kerala unit.
