Race To Be Kerala CM:  Power Struggle Heats Up Between Satheesan, Venugopal Camps

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has stormed back to power in Kerala, winning 102 of the state’s 140 Assembly seats including a record 63 for the Congress itself. The LDF, which had won 99 seats in 2021 was reduced to just 35 seats. Yet even before the celebrations have died down, attention has shifted to the next battle, the contest to become Kerala’s chief minister.

The race is between three senior Congress leaders: Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan, former Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, and AICC general secretary and Alappuzha MP K.C. Venugopal. Though Satheesan and Venugopal are seen as the top contenders, Chennithala still is the senior-most leader in the fray.

Senior leaders Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken were appointed as state observers by Congress High Command. They arrived in the state on Wednesday to meet all MLAs to know their preferences. On Thursday they wrapped up the meeting with all the contenders and MLAs. In the evening, the observers will meet other leaders in the state. They haven’t given an indication yet.

Satheesan has emerged the grassroots favourite after being widely credited with engineering one of the Congress party’s best electoral performances in the state. His arrival at the Ernakulam Junction railway station on Tuesday evening turned into a show of strength with thousands of Congress workers assembling to receive him after his journey from Thiruvananthapuram in the Vande Bharat Express. Supporters hoisted him onto their shoulders, chanting “Mukhyamanthri Satheesha” (Chief Minister Satheesan) underscoring who the party workers supported.

The groundswell of support for Satheesan has been building up over the last few years. He took over as Leader of the Opposition after the UDF’s successive defeats in the Assembly in 2016 and 2021. Satheesan, along with former KPCC president K. Sudhakaran, has been credited with reviving the party organisation, while Satheesan revived its electoral fortunes. Under his leadership, the UDF won 18 of Kerala’s 20 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, followed by strong performances in the 2025 local body elections.

At the same time, Venugopal’s supporters have tried to show their own organisational muscle. Earlier on Tuesday, Congress workers had gathered at the Delhi airport to welcome him on his arrival in the capital, pointing to the mobilisation in his favour.

Venugopal, however, remains a formidable contender. As AICC general secretary, he occupies one of the most important positions within the Congress and serves as a bridge between the Kerala unit and the national leadership. This has ensured that more than 40 MLAs have seemingly supported his candidature as CM. KPCC president Sunny Joseph too has said that Venugopal has the most support among MLAs. KCV, as he is known, influenced the selection of candidates for several of the seats and was seen as instrumental in containing dissent. Many within the party believe his proximity to the Congress high command could strengthen his claim to the top post.

Supporters of Venugopal have also mounted an aggressive campaign. Large posters praising him as “the architect of victory” appeared across the state, particularly along Trivandrum Road and outside the District Congress Committee office in Thiruvananthapuram. In Kottayam, however, some of these posters were defaced with black paint, exposing simmering tensions within party ranks and signalling that the leadership contest has already spilled into public view.

The rivalry has triggered a wider poster war across Kerala. In Kannur’s Irikkur, posters appeared targeting Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan after he remarked that alliance partners Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) traditionally do not interfere in each other’s decisions regarding legislative leadership. Kuzhalnadan had also described the IUML as the “backbone” of the UDF. The posters, which mocked his name, insisted that Satheesan, having led the Opposition alliance to victory, should now lead the state as Chief Minister.

The IUML, one of the UDF’s most important allies with 22 seats, has so far struck a cautious note. While acknowledging the enthusiasm among Congress workers, the party has maintained that the final decision rests entirely with the Congress leadership.

Despite Satheesan’s apparent edge among party workers and sections of the cadre, the final decision is expected to rest with the Congress high command. Venugopal’s national stature and close ties with the leadership in Delhi continue to make him a serious contender. Should he ultimately be chosen, he would have to resign from his current Lok Sabha seat and secure election to the Kerala Assembly within six months, necessitating a by-election after a sitting MLA vacates a seat.