Who is VD Satheesan? Kerala’s new CM & grassroots Congress leader who led the UDF’s comeback, ending LDF rule

NEW DELHI: V D Satheesan was named the next Kerala chief minister on Thursday, ending a decade-long rule of the Left Democratic Front led by Pinarayi Vijayan in the state.

The Congress announced his name after 10 days of suspense over the top leadership role, with the decision pending since May 4 following the assembly election results. The announcement was made at a press conference by Ajay Maken, Mukul Wasnik and Deepa Dasmunshi.



VD Satheesan was among the main contenders for the post, along with veteran leaders KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala.

Also read | VD Satheesan named next Kerala chief minister as Congress ends suspense

The Congress-led UDF won 102 of the 140 seats in the 2026 Kerala assembly elections, while the LDF secured 35 seats.

Who is VD Satheesan

V D Satheesan served as Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly before the Congress-led UDF registered a decisive victory in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections.

With the announcement of the new CM, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) is set to meet Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar later in the day to formally stake claim to form the government.

Satheesan also won the 2026 Assembly election from the Paravur constituency, securing his sixth consecutive term as MLA. He received 78,658 votes and defeated CPI candidate E T Taison Master by a margin of 20,600 votes. He has represented Paravur since 2001, completing 25 years in the constituency.

As leader of opposition since 2021, he emerged as one of the key faces of the United Democratic Front’s campaign against the ruling Left government, taking an active role in raising issues related to governance and administration. He also served as Vice President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and took over the Opposition leadership post from Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala after the 2021 Assembly election.

Born in 1964 in Nettoor near Kochi, Satheesan is a lawyer by profession. He entered public life through the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and later rose through the Youth Congress, building his career on grassroots organisational work.

He is regarded as part of a younger, reform-oriented section within the Congress leadership in Kerala. His major political breakthrough came in 2021 when he was unexpectedly appointed Leader of Opposition after the UDF’s defeat to the Left Front under Pinarayi Vijayan, despite having no prior ministerial experience.

He is an executive member of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), and the whip of the Congress Legislature Party. He is also active in trade union work and leads several workers’ organisations in the industrial belt of Cochin.

Satheesan began his student political journey as Chairman of the MG University Union representing KSU and later served as Secretary of NSU. He was practising as a lawyer at the Kerala High Court when he entered the Assembly from North Paravur in 2001.

He studied at Nettur and Panangad, completed his degree at Sacred Heart College, Thevara, and later earned a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Service from Rajagiri College of Social Sciences. He holds an LLB from Law Academy, Thiruvananthapuram, and an LLM from Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.