Kerala Assembly polls | V. D. Satheesan: Captaining a resurgent Congress in Kerala- NSP NEWS

Nearly nine months ago, Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan had caused ripples in political circles after he said that he would go on a ‘Vanavasam’ (political exile) once he failed to bring the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) back to power in the State with a ‘sparkling win.’

He made the seemingly bold political statement in response to a challenge posed by his long-time critic and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan on whether he would quit politics if he is proved wrong.

The UDF’s emphatic win has not only silenced his critics, but reasserted the political supremacy of the 61-year-old Congress leader, who was given the task of reinvigorating the party and its disenchanted workers after he was chosen by the high command as the Leader of the Opposition following the front’s electoral debacle in 2021 amidst the Left wave.

Born to K. Damodara Menon and V. Vilasini Amma in Nettur, Ernakulam district on May 31, 1964, he completed his primary education from Panangad High School. He entered student politics as the Arts Club secretary at Sacred Heart College, Thevara in Ernakulam. A law graduate, he was the chairperson of the Mahatma Gandhi University Union in 1986-87 representing the Kerala Students Union. He had also served as national committee secretary of the National Students Union.

An orator with excellent debating skills from his college days, the party picked him as its candidate to wrest back the Paravur Assembly segment in 1996 after the traditional Congress stronghold slowly started tilting towards the Communist Party of India (CPI) for four consecutive terms since 1982. Though he was defeated by the CPI’s P. Raju by a narrow margin of 1,116 votes in his maiden contest, he never lost hope and made Paravur his home and worked hard at the grassroot level to win the confidence of the voters. His efforts paid off as he won the elections in 2001 with a margin of 7, 792 votes. There was no looking back as he secured impressive wins in the elections held since then.

Political narrative

An astute politician, he succeeded in shaping the political narrative of this election by repeatedly echoing his unwavering commitment to secularism and fierce opposition to majority and minority communalism. He called the UDF as ‘Nehruvian Left’ and labelled the Left front as ‘extreme Right’ to garner the confidence of the disgruntled voices within the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)].

Popular for his deft election management skills that was evident in the impressive wins in the byelections held in Thrikkakara, Puthuppally, Palakkad, Nilambur and the 2024 general elections, he was able to win back the confidence of various social and religious groups that had drifted away from the Congress through his social engineering skills. He enthused the front leaders and workers by coining the word “Team UDF” and managed the alliance equations adeptly as the chairperson of the front.

A few months ahead of the Assembly elections, he announced that ‘Vismayam’ (wonder/surprise) would happen in Kerala politics, suggesting the shift of key individuals from other political parties to the UDF fold. It turned true as a host of high-profile CPI(M) leaders, including veterans G. Sudhakaran, P. Aisha Potty, T. K Govindan, and V. Kunhikrishnan, left the party and contested the elections with the support of the Congress and its partners.

Though he had lost many key roles between the cup and the lip whenever the party came into power, including a possible ministerial berth in the Oommen Chandy government in 2011, Mr. Satheesan is likely to emerge as the frontrunner for the Chief Minister post this time even though a final decision would rest upon the call taken by the high command.