How VD Satheesan overcame the odds to make it to the Kerala CM post

For years, VD Satheesan was seen as a Congress leader who often came close to power but never fully reached it. He lost important organisational posts, lost his first election, and was repeatedly overlooked for ministerial roles.

Now, after leading the Congress-led UDF to a sweeping electoral victory, Satheesan is set to become Kerala’s 13th Chief Minister. His political journey has been marked by persistence, gradual growth, and years of internal party battles before finally reaching the top post in Kerala politics.

Early years

Satheesan was born in 1964 in Nettur in Ernakulam district. He entered politics through student movements and later rose through the ranks of the Youth Congress.

His first Assembly election in 1996 ended in defeat. But he returned strongly in 2001 by winning from the Paravur assembly constituency. Over the years, Satheesan built a reputation as one of the sharpest speakers in the Kerala Assembly and projected himself as a leader focused on governance, policy, and public issues.

During the first term of Pinarayi Vijayan, Satheesan emerged as one of the prominent faces of the Congress-led opposition. Later, as Leader of the Opposition, his political style became more aggressive and confrontational while targeting the Left government.

What strengthened Satheesan’s rise was support beyond the Congress party itself. He reached out to civil society groups and activists ahead of the elections, and the strategy worked in his favour.

Leadership battle

One of Satheesan's most impressive achievements it that even people once aligned with the Left increasingly rallied behind Satheesan, helping him emerge as a larger political face of anti-Left sentiment in Kerala.

Within the Congress, senior leaders like Ramesh Chennithala and KC Venugopal were also seen as contenders for the Chief Minister’s post. However, Satheesan carried stronger public momentum, visibility, and backing from key UDF allies such as the Indian Union Muslim League. After decades of persistence, Satheesan has finally reached Kerala’s top political office.

Bigger challenge

While the electoral victory marks a major political milestone, the bigger challenge begins now. Winning power is one thing, but governing Kerala is far more testing.

Managing governance challenges and handling internal tussles within the UDF alliance could become key tests for Satheesan in the coming years. Will VD Satheesan emerge as a winner in this regard?

The content above has been transcribed from video using a fine-tuned AI model. To ensure accuracy, quality, and editorial integrity, we employ a Human-In-The-Loop (HITL) process. While AI assists in creating the initial draft, our experienced editorial team carefully reviews, edits, and refines the content before publication. At The Federal, we combine the efficiency of AI with the expertise of human editors to deliver reliable and insightful journalism.