The decision came in pretty late, but it had the stamp of public approval. Ten days after the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won a resounding victory in the Kerala assembly election, winning 102 of the 140 seats, the Congress high command finally announced leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the outgoing assembly, V.D Satheesan, 61, as the state’s new chief minister on May 14. He was chosen over two other party veterans—AICC general secretary and Alappuzha MP K.C. Venugopal, a strong contender who reportedly had the backing of a majority of the newly-elected MLAs; and former state home minister and Haripad MLA, Ramesh Chennithala. Satheesan is expected to take oath as CM on May 18.
