Ramesh Chennithala upset after Kerala CM announcement, will not join state Cabinet: Sources
Ramesh Chennithala alleged that due importance has not been accorded to seniority. However, leaders close to him denied the reports and said that Chennithala had not expressed any dissent to the High Command.
Veteran Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday expressed resentment after the Congress named VD Satheesan as the next chief minister of Kerala, ending days of suspense and speculation over the matter. According to sources, Ramesh Chennithala remained displeased despite receiving a phone call from Rahul Gandhi. Sources added that he will not participate in the Legislative Party meeting and has no intention of joining the Cabinet.
Chennithala alleges due importance has not been accorded
He also alleges that due importance has not been accorded to seniority. However, leaders close to him denied the reports and said that Chennithala had not expressed any dissent to the High Command.
Earlier in the day, the Congress named VD Satheesan as the next chief minister of Kerala. The decision was announced here at a press conference by AICC in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunsi and the party's central observers for the state Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik, as well as Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh.
Satheesan, Venugopal, Chennithala: Three contenders for CM post
The three main contenders for the post of chief minister were Satheesan, KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala. "The Congress Legislature Party had met in Thiruvananthapuram on May 7, 2026 and had unanimously resolved to authorise Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to appoint the new leader of the CLP in the state," Dasmunsi said.
Accordingly, the Congress president has held extensive discussions with Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC observers who had met with the newly-elected MLAs and many other leaders, including MPs, and former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs, she said.
When will new Kerala CM take oath?
"Based on all these discussions, it has been decided that VD Satheesan be appointed as the leader of the CLP," Dasmunsi said. Asked when the swearing-in will take place, Dasmunshi said she will be going to Kerala and after that it will be decided.
The announcement came a day after former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi met Kharge for about 40 minutes, after which the party stated that all deliberations and discussions by the high command were complete. A decision on the next Kerala chief minister had been pending since May 4 when the Congress-led UDF bagged 102 seats out of the 140, which is more than a two-thirds majority.
It should be noted that the Congress has 63 MLAs in the 140-member Kerala Assembly. Its allies Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has 22, Kerala Congress (KEC) has eight and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) three.
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