V.D. Satheesan to be next Chief Minister of Kerala as Congress leadership ends suspense

V.D. Satheesan will be the next Chief Minister of Kerala. The Congress leadership on Thursday (May 14, 2026) picked Mr. Satheesan as the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, putting an end to the high drama and suspense that lasted all of ten days after the declaration of the State Assembly election results on May 4.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE - May 14, 2026

Mr. Satheesan, 61, will take over as the 13th Chief Minister of the southern State, following the April 9 elections that ended ten years of CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule. The Opposition Leader of Kerala during 2021-2026, he succeeds Pinarayi Vijayan to the post after the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) scripted a landslide victory, claiming 102 seats in the 140-seat House.

It was not immediately evident how the Congress leadership had eventually resolved the dispute among Mr. Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala and and K.C. Venugopal, the three senior leaders who were in the running for the Chief Minister’s post.

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The delay in deciding who the Chief Minister would be had led to supporters of the three leaders taking the battle out into the open with posters, flex boards and social media campaigns.

Early years

Born to K. Damodara Menon and V. Vilasini Amma in Nettur, Ernakulam district on May 31, 1964, Mr. Satheesan completed his primary education from Panangad High School. He entered student politics as the Arts Club secretary at Sacred Heart College, Thevara.

A law graduate, he was the KSU chairperson of the Mahatma Gandhi University Union in 1986-87. He has also served as the national committee secretary of the National Students’ Union.

He lost his first election, from the Paravur constituency in the 1996 Assembly polls, to CPI candidate P. Raju. But he had won all the elections since then, in 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026.

Mr. Satheesan’s name was announced after extended discussions in New Delhi on Thursday morning.

Although the announcement was expected on Wednesday, following several rounds of discussions in New Delhi, it was eventually put off to Thursday. The Congress Legislature Party meeting is slated for later this evening at the Indira Bhavan, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters.

All the Congress MLAs were directed to be present at the KPCC headquarters for the CLP meeting.