‘No rift with Venugopal, we remain very close friends’, says Satheesan

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 9 (PTI) Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Friday dismissed suggestions of a rift between him and AICC organisational general secretary K C Venugopal, even though they were rivals for the top post nearly four months ago, saying they remain good friends and that there is no bad blood between them.

"We are very close. He is my contemporary. He was my... Youth Congress president. We are very close friends. We used to travel across the world together," he said while talking to PTI Videos here in an interview.

Satheesan said he regularly interacts with Venugopal, adding that they spoke to each other almost every day.

"Whenever I am in Delhi, I meet him or call him. He also calls me. Some of these things (reports of a rift) are developed by the media. In the Congress, it is different. We have a very good relationship," he said.

Satheesan said jostling for the top post is common in every party, and the other contenders for Keralam's chief ministerial post -- Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala -- were equally deserving.

"They are all deserving candidates. I cannot reject their claim. For example Ramesh Chennithala, he is senior to me. And K C Venugopal is my contemporary. But he is doing well in Delhi as an organisation secretary. They can claim but after considering all things, our Congress high command decided...my name. That doesn't mean they are not deserving. But you have to select one person only."

He said it is possible he was selected because he led the party to a series of by-election and local bodies victories, finally leading UDF to the assembly victory this year.

He said he even predicted that the UDF will cross 100 seats (out of 140) and that 12 sitting ministers will lose, which turned out to be true even though 18 out of 26 poll surveys had predicted a rout for the UDF.

"I said if we are not winning (the assembly elections) I will retire from politics. It was my word. I gave my word to boost the morale of our workers. And Congress got the highest number (of seats) in the history of Keralam. These may be the (reasons) for selecting me as the leader," he said.

Soon after the Assembly polls in April this year, Keralam witnessed an unprecedented tussle among party leaders and cadres backing Venugopal, Satheesan and Chennithala for the chief minister's post.

After days of deliberations, the Congress high command chose Satheesan for the post. Since then, media reports have suggested differences between him and Venugopal.

The Congress-led UDF came to power with a massive majority, winning 102 seats in the Assembly polls.

Asked about his relationship with Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, Satheesan said he shared good relations with all of them.

"Priyanka Gandhi is very much interested in Keralam and Wayanad, her constituency. We communicate (regularly). I have a very good relationship with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi also," he said. PTI