Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6 (IANS): Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V.D. Satheesan, on Thursday, dismissed speculation over Congress’ chief ministerial candidate, asserting that the party high command alone decides on the matter.
His remarks came in response to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s jibe about internal politics in the Congress.
"Neither I nor any other Congress leader is in the race for the chief minister’s post. Everyone knows that at the right time, the party high command makes the selection. We don’t need lectures from Vijayan on this,” Satheesan said.
The exchange arose from an incident at a state-run diaspora organisation NORKA’s event, where business tycoon Ravi Pillai was being felicitated. During the welcome address, the organiser referred to veteran Congress legislator Ramesh Chennithala as the "next Chief Minister of Kerala," in the presence of Vijayan.
Visibly irked, Vijayan later quipped that the comment would turn into a "bomb" within the Congress party. It is also learned that he privately expressed strong displeasure over the remark of the event's organiser.
Reacting to Vijayan’s sarcasm, Satheesan warned that he too could hit back."If Vijayan keeps cracking ‘jokes’ about Congress, I will be forced to remind him of certain incidents from 2006 and 2011," he said.
In 2006, ahead of the Assembly elections, then Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan -- who was set to lead the CPI(M) campaign -- was initially denied a ticket. A massive public backlash, however, forced the party to reconsider the decision, and he eventually became Chief Minister.
A similar episode played out in 2011 when Achuthanandan was again sidelined but secured public backing. He led the CPI(M) to a strong performance, nearly toppling the Congress-led UDF, which finally won by just two seats in the 140-member assembly, getting 72 against LDF’s 68.
Vijayan and Achuthanandan were at loggerheads for years, and despite leading the 2016 election campaign, Achuthanandan was overlooked for the CM’s post in favour of Vijayan.
Kerala heads to the polls in April-May 2026, with Vijayan eyeing a third consecutive term.