Sudden trip to capital, Venugopal-Rahul Gandhi meet: Tell-tale signs which hinted V.D. Satheesan would be Kerala CM

The much-anticipated announcement that V D Sateeshan would helm the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala came exactly 10 days after the election mandate became clear. Though the decision on who would become the next Chief Minister remained closely guarded until the official announcement on Thursday afternoon, the signs had begun to emerge earlier in the day.

Sateeshan, who spent Wednesday at his residence in Ernakulam, suddenly left for Thiruvananthapuram by road early on Thursday morning. Accompanied by his daughter and niece, his departure fuelled speculation that a major announcement was imminent.

Soon, reports emerged that AICC general secretary K C Venugopal had not boarded the chartered flight carrying the AICC delegation — including Kerala in-charge Deepa Das Munshi, Mukul Wasnik, and Ajay Maken — to Kerala. Venugopal’s closed-door meeting with Rahul Gandhi on Thursday morning further intensified rumours that the decision was not going in his favour. He declined to respond to questions from reporters. His decision to remain in Delhi was also interpreted as a subtle signal from the Congress high command that his political role would continue at the national level.

By noon, it had become increasingly clear that Sateeshan would be named the next Chief Minister of Kerala, though the formal announcement was still pending. Upon