Accept Congress decision appointing VD Satheesan as Kerala CM, says KC Venugopal

On VD Satheesan named Keralam CM, AICC Kerala Observer Ajay Maken said, "Only after talking to everyone and holding extensive discussions, the decision was taken."

Congress General Secretary (Org) KC Venugopal said, "The final decision has come, and the Congress high command decided VD Satheesan as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the Kerala Government. I am welcoming that decision wholeheartedly. I am congratulating VD Satheesan on this position. I think that people of Kerala have given a big verdict for the UDF. The government and the leadership of VD Satheesan can fulfil the aspirations and promises of the people of Kerala. Certainly, we are totally behind the government of Kerala."

"It is a very good decision," said Keralam Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph, as VD Satheesan is announced as Kerala CM.

Satheesan won the Paravur Assembly seat for the sixth time in a row in 2026 by defeating Communist Party of India's (CPI) ET Taison Master with a margin of 20,600 votes.

Celebrations begin at the residence of VD Satheesan as Congress names him the Chief Minister of Kerala.

Congress names VD Satheesan as the Chief Minister of Kerala.

According to the sources, Congress leader VD Satheesan is likely to be Kerala's next chief minister.

(Report: Vijay Laxmi)

On Kerala CM announcement, Senior Congress leader PJ Kurien, "The High Command's decision will be accepted by all Congress workers. The decision has been slightly delayed, but Congress is a democratic party. The day before yesterday, Rahul Gandhi’s office called, and I conveyed my opinion to the secretary. I personally shared my opinion three times. The secretary handed over my written opinion to Rahul Gandhi. This is an extremely democratic process. I expressed my views clearly. Whoever becomes the Chief Minister will be accepted. It is not right to criticise, saying my opinion was not considered. I do not rigidly insist on my opinions. Discussions will also be held before deciding on the ministers. I am not aware of any stand by VD Satheesan that he will stay out if he is not made Chief Minister or included in the Cabinet."

The announcement about the next Chief Minister of Kerala is to be made in Delhi.

(Report: Vijai Laxmi)

The CLP meeting will be held at 4 PM. Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mukul Wasnik, and Deepa Das Munshi, arrived at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi. 

(Report: Vijai Laxmi)

Congress leader Joseph Vazhackan arrives at the residence of party leader Ramesh Chennithala. He said, "Even if delayed, a good decision will come. When there is more than one person, a decision that does not hurt anyone will be made. That is probably why there was a slight delay in making the decision. Taking 11 days to make a decision is not a very big delay. There were disputes in the CPIM, too, in the past. It is common in all parties. When there are three people on the same level, even the high command will take time to make a decision. When a decision is taken after discussing with everyone, there should not be any mistakes. Ramesh Chennithala is a senior leader and is eligible to become Chief Minister. Likewise, each person is saying they have their own eligibility. There is nothing wrong with that, but the high command has to make the decision."

According to sources, KPCC President Sunny Joseph has sought an appointment to meet with the Governor late this evening. The State Congress Committee has contacted the Governor's office to request a meeting time for today. It is reported that the Governor's office has provided the meeting time.

(Report: T Raghvan)

The Congress legislative party meeting is unlikely to begin at the scheduled time of 1 pm, as the party observers are set to depart from Delhi only at 1 pm. They are traveling by chartered aircraft and are expected to reach Thiruvananthapuram by 4 pm, following which the CLP meeting will be convened. 

(Report: T Raghvan)

Hours ahead of the CLP meeting on Thursday to choose the next CM of Kerala, senior leader V D Satheesan left for Thiruvananthapuram with his family, Ramesh Chennithala interacted warmly with reporters outside his residence, while K C Venugopal arrived at Rahul Gandhi's residence in New Delhi. All three are the contenders for the post of chief minister of Kerala.

 Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal is at the residence of Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.

Kerala Congress (J) chairman P J Joseph on Thursday reiterated that the party will seek two ministerial berths when the UDF comes to power. He was speaking to reporters before leaving from Thodupuzha to Thiruvananthapuram, where a UDF meeting has been called to take forward the process of government formation. "We will make our claim in the UDF meeting. We will ask for two ministers," he said. The UDF secured 102 out of 140 seats, while Kerala Congress (J) has seven MLAs.

Senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan appreciated the party's High Command for adopting a clear process to select the next Chief Minister of Kerala. Speaking to reporters, Radhakrishnan, who is an elected legislator from Kottayam, said the High Command had heard everyone, with Rahul Gandhi directly involved in the process. "This is a process with clarity which cannot be questioned by anyone. In a democracy, only such a process can be followed. I express my happiness to the High Command for it," Radhakrishnan said.

He said confusion in selecting a leader from multiple names is natural. "It cannot be said that in a democratic party every person should have the same opinion. Here, the Congress party has a coordinating force, which is its leadership. The party leadership adopted all processes, including the meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), meetings in New Delhi, and further discussions. After all the processes, the leadership is going to announce its final decision," he said. (PTI)

After the Congress Legislature Party  meeting, another meeting is also scheduled with the leaders of Congress' coalition partners—the IUML, Kerala Congress, and RSP. It is reported that, upon the conclusion of this meeting, the party will proceed to the Raj Bhavan to formally stake its claim to form the government.

Posters emerge near Wayanad district Congress office warning Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of losing further polls if KC Venugopal is nominated for Kerala CM post.

NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair said said that UDF coalition partners, including the IUML, should not have interfered in the Kerala chief minister selection process and that their intervention had delayed the decision.

Nair claimed that not just the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), but other UDF coalition parties also interfered in the selection process, which was an internal matter of the Congress. "The delay in a decision by the Congress central leadership is due to this interference. If not, the decision would have come much earlier," he said.

Kerala is the fourth southern state where the Congress is in power. It has governments in Karnataka and Telangana and has joined hands with the ruling TVK in Tamil Nadu after the recent polls.

The United Democratic Front (UDF) secured a decisive mandate in the recent Kerala Assembly elections, winning 102 seats. The Congress emerged as the single largest party with 63 seats, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which had won 99 seats in 2021, was reduced to 35 seats.

The party has been grappling with its chief ministerial pick and has held several rounds of discussions with local leaders and former party chiefs in the state. Rahul Gandhi had previously met several leaders from Kerala and around eight former state unit chiefs to ascertain the ground situation.

AICC general secretary for organisation, K C Venugopal, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Kerala assembly, Satheesan, and senior party leader Chennithala are among those in the race for the top post after the Congress-led UDF swept the April 9 elections. Rahul Gandhi had held separate discussions with several Kerala leaders and former state Congress chiefs in recent days to assess the political situation before the high command moved towards a final decision.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence on Wednesday. The meeting, which lasted around 40 minutes, focused on the ongoing deliberations over the Chief Ministerial choice for Kerala. The discussions come at a crucial time as the party attempts to balance internal factions and alliance sensitivities before making a formal announcement from Delhi.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by KPCC chief Sunny Joseph, the Congress Legislature Party meeting will be held at 1 pm on May 14. The announcement came as the Congress high command indicated that the suspense over the next chief minister of Kerala would end on Thursday, nearly 10 days after the Assembly election results were declared.

Congress is set to announce its Kerala Chief Minister candidate today, ten days after  the results of the Kerala assembly polls were declared. The CLP meeting is scheduled to be held at the KPCC headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday afternoon to elect its legislative leader.