Senior Congress leader and six-time MLA VD Satheesan (61), has been named by the Congress as the next Chief Minister of Kerala, ending 10 days of marathon deliberations after the United Democratic Front (UDF)’s sweeping Assembly election victory. However, it was the last five years as the Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislature Assembly that shaped Mr. Satheesan as a leader of the masses with a pan-Kerala appeal. Twenty-five years after entering the Kerala Legislative Assembly as a Congress legislator from his house Devaragam in Paravur, Satheesan is all set to move to Cliff House, the official residence of the Chief Minister of Kerala.
Satheesan is widely credited as the architect of the party-led front’s emphatic 102-seat victory, driven by an aggressive campaign and the forging of a broad umbrella coalition. He also spearheaded the Opposition’s attack on the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government over corruption allegations, governance issues and economic concerns across key political platforms. Satheesan has built a reputation as a fierce debater, organisational strategist and mass leader. Since first winning the Paravur Assembly seat in 2001, he has remained unbeaten in the constituency for over two decades.
His only electoral defeat came in 1996, when he contested his maiden Assembly election and lost to CPI candidate P Raju.
