In Kerala's Game Of Thrones, VD Satheesan Got The Crown But Venugopal Kept The Power

Last Updated:May 14, 2026, 13:37 IST

In Kerala Congress politics, Venugopal may not have become the face of power but he remains one of the people who decide how power works

KC Venugopal may have lost the race for Kerala chief minister, but the contest revealed something more enduring about the Congress in the state: power does not always rest with the person occupying the top chair. Even without the chief minister’s office, Venugopal remains one of the most influential political figures in Kerala Congress politics, perhaps even more so because his authority extends beyond the state.

When the Congress-led UDF returned to power after years in opposition, the battle for chief ministership quickly narrowed to VD Satheesan and KC Venugopal. On paper, Venugopal appeared exceptionally well-placed. As Congress general secretary (organisation), he controls one of the most powerful levers in the national party structure and is regarded as one of Rahul Gandhi’s closest political associates. Reports during the leadership consultations suggested that many newly elected MLAs preferred him for the top post. Yet, despite his organisational heft, the Congress high command eventually chose Satheesan.

The reasons lay in a mix of political optics, public legitimacy and internal balancing.

Satheesan had spent years leading the opposition against the LDF and had become the public face of the Congress campaign in Kerala. News18 had reported that alliance partners and sections of the state leadership believed voters associated the UDF victory more directly with Satheesan’s leadership than with Venugopal’s organisational role. There was also concern that bypassing Satheesan after the election victory could trigger resentment within the state unit.

Venugopal faced another practical disadvantage: he had not contested the assembly election. The Congress had earlier insisted that sitting MPs would not enter the state fray, and Venugopal remained in Parliament. Making him chief minister would therefore have required an immediate by-election, something the party wanted to avoid at the start of a new government.

But the defeat in the chief ministerial race did not amount to a loss of influence. In fact, recent developments inside the Kerala Congress suggest that Venugopal’s authority has continued to expand even without executive office.

An October 2025 report in The New Indian Express described how a “new power axis" had emerged within the Kerala Congress under Venugopal’s influence, reshaping traditional factional equations in the party. The report argued that the old Congress grouping culture in Kerala, historically dominated by competing camps led by veterans like Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, was giving way to a more centralised structure aligned with Venugopal’s leadership. According to the report, leaders increasingly saw him as the key channel to the national high command and the central figure in strategic decisions.

That consolidation became even clearer with the formation of the Congress core committee in Kerala. Another New Indian Express report in November 2025 noted that the committee had effectively redrawn the balance of power within the state unit and enhanced the influence of leaders aligned with Venugopal, showing how deeply he was embedded in the party’s internal architecture.

His rise has also been rooted in a political style very different from traditional Kerala mass leaders. From student politics at Kerala University to the Congress high command in Delhi, he built influence through organisational discipline, strategic networking and loyalty to the Gandhi family rather than through mass populism. Unlike leaders who cultivated charisma in public rallies, Venugopal became powerful by mastering the internal mechanics of the Congress system.

That organisational influence translated into extraordinary control over candidate selection and appointments in Kerala. A March 2026 report described Venugopal as the “final authority" on Congress tickets in the state, with aspirants routinely seeking his approval before expecting consideration from the party. The report suggested that after AK Antony’s gradual withdrawal from active politics, Venugopal became the principal intermediary between the Kerala Congress and the national leadership.

Even the chief minister selection process underlined this contradiction. News18 had reported that Venugopal publicly conveyed to Rahul Gandhi that “party first" mattered more than personal ambition and indicated his willingness to work for the organisation regardless of the outcome. That response reinforced an image he has cultivated for years within the Congress: not necessarily the most visible mass leader, but the most dependable organisational strategist.

This may ultimately explain why Venugopal lost the chief ministership but not political relevance. Satheesan represented electoral legitimacy and public leadership in Kerala. Venugopal represented continuity with the Congress high command and control over the party apparatus. In modern Congress politics, those are two very different kinds of power.

The result is a curious duality in Kerala today. The chief minister may run the government, but Venugopal still influences candidate selection, factional negotiations, leadership appointments and the party’s relationship with Delhi. His defeat in the CM race therefore did not diminish his role; it merely clarified it.

In Kerala Congress politics, Venugopal may not have become the face of power but he remains one of the people who decide how power works.

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