Ending days of uncertainty, the Congress high command finally named UDF chairman and Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Kerala Assembly V.D. Satheesan as the chief minister of Kerala. The decision was announced in New Delhi at a press conference by AICC in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunsi, the party's central observers for the state, Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik, and Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh.
The party's decision came 10 days after the results of the Kerala Assembly polls in Kerala were declared. The Congress-led UDF won a whopping 102 seats of the 140 in the state, limiting the LDF to 35 seats and BJP to three. But, the party has been unable to decide its chief ministerial candidate due to lobbying by Satheesan, AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala and their respective supporters.
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After the announcement, Venugopal, while speaking to reporters in New Delhi, said he accepted the party’s decision to select Satheesan as the Kerala chief minister of Kerala and congratulated him.
“I humbly accept the party high command decision and will work to implement it. I am a loyal Congressman. For me the party is everything. I don't want an image at the cost of the party. I want to die shrouded in the party flag. Will give all support to the government in Kerala," he said.
Venugopal added that he had made it clear from the beginning that he would accept the Congress’s decision. He added that the party leadership took the decision after considering all aspects, and also asserted that there will be no issues in the party following the party high command decision.
He refused to answer questions on whether he has been made any promises by the party for not being made the Kerala CM, or whether there was any pressure from the UDF ally, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), on the CM choice.
Interestingly, while responding to a question from a Malayalam news channel on whether he would consider resigning from the post of the AICC general secretary (organisation), he sarcastically said, “Ini athumkoodi edukunengil, njan kodukkam. Ninde okke aagraham undengil (If the party wants that too, I will give it up. If that’s what you all want). ”
Several netizens are interpreting it as a sign of his admission that he sacrificed the CM’s post for the party’s good, despite enjoying the support of the majority of MLA-elects.
With Chennithala announcing that he would abide by the party high command’s decision, it had primarily become a two-horse race between Venugopal and Satheeshan. Though a majority of the MLA-elects favoured the former, the sentiment of the party workers and allies favoured Satheesan, which eventually proved to be the deciding factor.