CONGRESS leader V D Satheesan on Thursday emerged victorious in a 3-way battle for the coveted Chief Minister’s post in Keralam, ending days of suspense over the top post despite the party-led UDF sweeping the April 9 Assembly polls. The 61-year-old leader will be the next CM, the party announced, drawing cheers and celebrations from Satheesan’s supporters and Congress workers alike. AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala were the other two contenders in the race for the CM’s post. The decision selecting Satheesan was announced in 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 of communications Jairam Ramesh. “Based on all the discussions, it has been decided that V D Satheesan be appointed as the leader of the CLP,” Dasmunsi said. Hours after the announcement, the Congress Legislature Party met in Thiruvananthapuram in the presence of Dasmunsi and the two AICC observers and unanimously passed a resolution electing Satheesan as its leader. Satheesan later met Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Lok Bhavan here and handed over the list of MLAs supporting him and staked claim to form the Government. The new Government is expected to be sworn in on Monday, sources said.

 

The AICC announcement came soon after Satheesan reached Thiruvananthapuram from Aluva to attend the CLP meeting. An elated Paravoor MLA thanked the party high command for giving him such a “huge responsibility,” and said the Government would work to deliver on the promises made to the public and improve their standard of living. While Venugopal accepted the party’s decision, an aggrieved Chennithala left his residence soon after the AICC announced Satheesan’s name for the top post. He did not attend the CLP meeting, but sent a letter supporting Satheesan. Satheesan spoke to him and the party’s central leaders also reached out to him in a bid to pacify him, sources said. It is not known whether he will accept a ministerial berth under Satheesan, who is much junior to him in Congress. “The people of Kerala have given us a big responsibility. They ended a 10-year-long Left rule and gave us (UDF) power by helping us win 102 of the 140 Assembly seats. So, what we promised to the public, we will fulfil one by one.” “We will all work hard with dedication to improve the living standards of the people,change Kerala, create a new Kerala and usher in a puthu yugam (new era),” he asserted.

 

Besides expressing his gratitude to top party leader Rahul Gandhi, Satheesan also thanked Congress General Secretary Venugopal and Chennithala. He said Venugopal coordinated the AICC efforts and supported all the party activities, which helped it achieve a huge victory in the assembly polls in the state. “Each day he would ask about our activities and support all of them,” he recalled. He said that Chennithala worked as the campaign committee chairman and termed him as “my leader also”. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Venugopal said he wholeheartedly congratulated the CM-designate. He further said that he had right from the start made it clear that he would accept the Congress decision whatever it may be as the party is everything for him. “So, that is my stand now. 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. Meanwhile, Satheesan visited senior Congress leader A K Antony at his residence in Thiruvananthapuram, who advised him to proceed carefully while recounting his own experiences as head of the Government in 2001.