- 47 minutes ago
Welcome to the official channel of Indian Express Hindi. In this high stakes political analysis, Editor Saurabh Dwivedi decodes the dramatic selection of V.D. Satheesan as the new Chief Minister of Kerala.
The Congress-led UDF has reclaimed the southern fortress, but the real battle wasn't at the booths—it was behind closed doors. We take you inside the intense power struggle between the 'Delhi favorite' K.C. Venugopal, veteran leader Ramesh Chennithala, and the man who eventually took the crown, V.D. Satheesan.
Why did the Congress High Command blink? We examine the unprecedented grassroots rebellion where the party cadre took to the streets, including the viral "No Remote Control from Delhi" posters in Wayanad. This video features a deep-dive profile of V.D. Satheesan—the six-time MLA known for his sharp intellect and aggressive stance against the Left—and explains why the ground-level workers demanded him over a "parachute" candidate.
Subscribe to Indian Express Hindi for fearless, fact-based, and in-depth journalism. Welcome to the new home of news.
The Congress-led UDF has reclaimed the southern fortress, but the real battle wasn't at the booths—it was behind closed doors. We take you inside the intense power struggle between the 'Delhi favorite' K.C. Venugopal, veteran leader Ramesh Chennithala, and the man who eventually took the crown, V.D. Satheesan.
Why did the Congress High Command blink? We examine the unprecedented grassroots rebellion where the party cadre took to the streets, including the viral "No Remote Control from Delhi" posters in Wayanad. This video features a deep-dive profile of V.D. Satheesan—the six-time MLA known for his sharp intellect and aggressive stance against the Left—and explains why the ground-level workers demanded him over a "parachute" candidate.
Subscribe to Indian Express Hindi for fearless, fact-based, and in-depth journalism. Welcome to the new home of news.
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NewsTranscript
00:00The one-line news is that the top leadership of Congress has removed sixth-time MLA VD Satish from the post.
00:06stamped the name
00:07He is now the leader of the Congress Legislative Party and the Chief Minister-designate of Kerala, i.e. the next Chief Minister of Kerala.
00:15will be the same
00:16But in politics, everything doesn't happen in one line.
00:19Today we will tell you in detail in this video.
00:23that after ten days of struggle
00:26How did the name of VD Satheesan get approved?
00:28From the party's organization General Secretary and Alpuza
00:31How did the trouble-torn KC Benugopal fall short in this race?
00:35Whereas out of 62-62, more than 46 MLAs were in his favor.
00:40In a house at 5 Suneri Bagh Road
00:44When KC Benugopal met Rahul Gandhi earlier today
00:47So what was his final argument?
00:50Why were Jotra Dit Scindia, Kamalnath and Digvijay Singh mentioned?
00:54When Rahul Gandhi spoke to disgruntled leader Ramesh Chenni Thala
00:58So what was the answer from there?
01:00And what advice did AK Antony give to the Gandhi family over the phone?
01:05Hello, my name is Saurabh Divedi and you are watching Indian Express Hindi.
01:10We will divide this entire narrative into three parts: beginning, middle and end.
01:16Where does it begin
01:182020 starts with the disappointments of 21
01:23The Congress Party lost the elections badly across the country.
01:28But there was one region where he was still breathing normally.
01:33This state was the state of Kerala
01:36Where 12 seats were won in 2014
01:38And even after that the performance was not bad in 2019.
01:42In such a situation, the party felt that traditions would be followed.
01:46The Left-led government will be removed in 2021.
01:50And UDF United Democratic Front will come into power
01:53I was waiting for this the most
02:08She lost the second assembly election and now had to wait for another five years.
02:13This year in 2024, the Lok Sabha will be elected and the UDF will contest in 20 of Kerala's 20 states.
02:18This was a big blow for Vijayan who won 18 seats from
02:22He was in the eighth year of his Chief Ministership.
02:25When local body elections are held in 2025, Congress leaders will also be in power here.
02:30The UDF won a landslide victory after this victory, with three leaders who were
02:36Ramesh Chenni Thala was eyeing the Chief Minister's chair for a while and became a minister at the age of 28.
02:44Four-time student, who gained strength in the Congress through politics, became the National President of the Youth Congress.
02:52been in many governments
02:53He was also the Home Minister in the government of Minister Oommen Chandy. He felt that at the age of 71, he was a senior citizen.
03:00The party will field him in the 2026 assembly elections, keeping his seniority in mind.
03:08Head of the Campaign Committee
03:22He contested the Lok Sabha elections for the first time in 1996 and at that time he was a powerful leader of Kerala and the Chief Minister.
03:29Corona was considered to be in Karan's camp
03:32He started contesting the assembly elections from 1996 from the seat of Kiyal Pooja and from 2006 from Agyani in three consecutive assembly elections.
03:40victory of Hasal
03:41He was also a minister for some time in the government of Oommen Chendi.
03:45KC Vinugopal is said to be able to choose his political masters and switch sides accordingly.
03:53have mastered the
03:54Once he used to be close to Corona Karan, then Corona Karan's sun set and AK became stronger.
04:02So KC Vinugopal took the hand of Ramesh Chaini Thala, the story hero mentioned a while ago.
04:09taken
04:09Chenni Thala used to lead the Third Front in the Congress in Kerala in those days.
04:14Even when this disciple of Chaini Thala reached Delhi, he established his strength in the Gandhi family.
04:19And its fate was written in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections when she won the Lok Sabha elections.
04:25In 2014, the party had 12 MPs from Kerala, and the Congress was at its weakest.
04:30In such a situation, it was permissible for the top command to give preference to the MPs from Kerala.
04:35And then KC Vin Gopal got a big responsibility for the first time as the Chief Whip in the party.
04:41However, before that, during UPA-II, he had also been a Minister of State for some time.
04:47From here KC Vin Gopal started getting closer to the top leadership of the party.
04:52And the final big seal on this was put when Ashok Gehlot was given the charge of party organisation in the latter half of 2019.
05:00was made General Secretary
05:01This was a big defeat for the Congress, after which K.C. Vin Gopal came to Delhi from Rajasthan via Rajya Sabha.
05:11Reached and became Rajya Sabha MP
05:12But KC felt that unless he was sitting next to Rahul Gandhi in the public meeting,
05:17His political stature will not grow any greater.
05:20In such a situation, despite the gap of two years, he still had two years left in his Rajya Sabha MPship.
05:27He resigned and contested the Lok Sabha elections from Alappuzha once again and won.
05:32In this process, Congress also lost one Rajya Sabha seat because in the 2023 elections in Rajasthan
05:39The Assembly numbers had changed after the new elections. Gehlot had lost the election and Badal Lal Sharma had lost.
05:46A government was formed under the leadership of
05:47In such a situation, when the Rajya Sabha by-election took place on that seat vacated by KC, then Bhachapa ji was elected from there.
05:53This was Dawidar number two who was very confident because he was having influence in the party in Kerala.
06:00Sunny Josette was made the state president
06:02So he was made the executive president, said to be KC Vinagopal's man, and he was also from KC's core team.
06:07He had the most influence in the distribution of MLA tickets and Bhama Shah was also the contender for those MLAs.
06:15KC Vinaygopal was the Finance Minister.
06:19The number two contender was number three. V.D. Satheesan, who hails from Ernakulam, is a sixth-time MLA and has been in the last
06:27He was the Leader of the Opposition for five years. Like other leaders, he also comes from the national politics of NSUI.
06:34Oman has also been a secretary.
06:36He had a claim for the ministerial post in Chendi's government but the guards were not in the right place then. For the last five years
06:43He was the Leader of the Opposition and was strongly opposing Pinarayi Vision within the Legislative Assembly.
06:50It was she who wore
06:55During his first term as MLA, he strongly raised the issue of illegal lottery while opposing the Left government.
07:02Bairal was a prominent figure in Kerala media. For the past five years, he had criticized Pinarayi's claims to such an extent that
07:08CPM has duly
07:23Smiling that he is coming into the spotlight, Satheesan made his Bollywood debut in February this year.
07:29To be precise, he took out a tour across the state and raised the anti-incumbency issue against the Prinamool government.
07:36with great force
07:52The opposition to the entry of Samajwadi Party leaders into politics or political comments is constantly new in the discussions.
08:00He was presenting himself as a champion of secularism and was talking to Congress about it.
08:06Jada Yudiyev
08:20The head of the Championing Committee, General Secretary of AAC C, Organizational Incharge KC Wingopad and Leader of the Opposition worked hard.
08:30VD Satishan Everyone was waiting for the results to come on May 4
08:36140 seat results: UPA wins unprecedented victory; Congress wins 102 seats; 63 seats
08:46The biggest reason Satheesan was relieved by the results was a statement he made that was held up by his opponents.
08:53It was that if something went wrong
08:55If something changes, this statement of Satishan will be the biggest irritant. He made the mistake before the elections in which he
09:01He said categorically that if the UPA wins less than 100 seats out of 140, then I will retire from politics.
09:10Lawyers say that after 102 seats,
09:16The results were declared on May 4th, after which Congress reached Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, on May 7th.
09:22Three leaders from Delhi, Kerala party in-charge Deepadas Munshi and two observers named Ajaimakan and Mukul Vasde have been arrested.
09:46Nine MLAs who had stamped their seal of approval were in favour of Satheesan and very few, two or four, were with Ramesh Chennidhala.
09:53But what was openly told was the same thing which is said that the Congress legislative party unanimously
10:01National President of Congress
10:03The three leaders returned with a letter of consent giving the Rakshasa the right to choose its leader.
10:10Two days later, on May 9, Rahul Gandhi summoned all three contenders to Delhi. The immediate reason for this was
10:18What was the May 7th legislation actually?
10:24KC is in favor of Vijay Gopal, then a spontaneous protest started by the MLAs in which Shafi
10:32Joseph was surrounded and his gratitude tours were interrupted by activists.
10:40Said that you
10:53That Samarth, including strategist Sunil Kanugolu, argued in Delhi that all this was orchestrated.
11:00It is not organic, it is not spontaneous, the party high command is not this active, when Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition,
11:19Which party was bigger in finding land for it, the one led by Praveen Chakraborty or the one led by Manickam Tagore?
11:25The one who was saying that we need victory
11:41The top command should remain with Vijay before the elections. The system here is that people in Kerala are waiting for the next Chief Minister.
11:49and the mobilisation in favour of Satheesan was growing on social media, on the ground, and through posters and hoardings.
11:56but Casey was feeling
12:11Rahul Gandhi was present at his house on Sunhari Bagh Road on the morning of 5
12:18Priyanka Gandhi, MP from Wayanad in Kerala and party general secretary, summoned KC Venugopal here.
12:25before mun
12:45Everyone was waiting for the Congress high command to emerge from the meeting and announce a final name which would be announced in Delhi.
12:53Deepadas Munshi's visit and then a special plane waiting at Delhi airport.
12:58Was �
12:58We will board the train, reach Tirunipur and further formalities will be completed. The meeting got a bit long.
13:06From two and a half hours when the Gandhi family informed KC Vinayak that there was pressure from allies to act
13:16This is the opinion of most of the leaders, not of the legislative party. This is the opinion of the leaders that this demand should be ignored.
13:22We are in favour of VD Satheesan so that this decision is not done, while KC Binagopal expressed his disagreement with this decision.
13:29He argued that we have always been vidakar
13:32The party has maintained the majority, although there are exceptions to this, for example, take the case of Punjab where
13:38In 2021, when Captain Amarinder Singh resigned, the Jatra MLAs wanted Sunil Chakar, now a BJP leader, to take over the reins of the party.
13:46He who is the leader of the Legislative Party should lead the Legislative Party
13:48That is, he became the next Chief Minister of Punjab, but then the high command appointed Charan Ji Singh Channi as the leader.
13:55There were many such examples but KC Benugopal mentioned the first Dalit Chief Minister of Punjab.
14:02did �
14:03of Madhya Pradesh in 2018
14:05When most of the MLAs were in favor of Kamalnath
14:08Digvijay Singh also joined him.
14:10And then the party, keeping Jyotiraditya Scindia's claim aside,
14:15Kamalnath was made the Chief Minister and sent to Madhya Pradesh
14:19But all these arguments of KC Vin Gopal did not work.
14:24His assurances about Delhi proved incomplete.
14:27And Rahul Gandhi said in these words
14:29VD Satheesan will be the leader of the legislative party.
14:33But there was still one phone call left.
14:36This phone call was made to Ramesh Chennithala
14:38Those who were in Kerala were waiting for their turn.
14:42Rahul Gandhi had a long conversation with Ramesh Chennithala himself.
14:46and tried to reassure them
14:48that your political interests will be taken care of in the new government
14:50Your loved one will be taken great care of
14:53But not every leader is satisfied with the assurances of the top command.
14:59Ramesh Chennithala is said to be angry
15:01And why are we saying this?
15:03Because late in the evening when the Idhayak Dal had a meeting in Dirunandhapuram
15:06So Ramesh Chennithala's letter of support did arrive.
15:10He did not reach himself
15:12When all the phone calls were cleared, the party observers were informed about the decision.
15:17After this the press cameras were turned
15:19Jairam Ramesh spoke first.
15:21Will the questions not be answered?
15:24The microphone was then turned towards Deepadas Munshi, the party's in-charge for Kerala.
15:29Deepadas Munshi read out the statement in English.
15:33And said that the party has decided to appoint V.D. Satheesan as the leader of the legislative party.
15:39Accordingly, the Congress President has held extensive discussions with the Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party,
15:49Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sava, the AICC observers who had met with the newly elected MLAs on
16:01May 7, 2026
16:03and many other leaders from the state including MPs, former PCC presidents, have all also been consulted.
16:13Based on all these discussions, it has been decided that Shri Vidi Satishan be appointed as the leader of the
16:24CLP.
16:25Thank you so much.
16:26These leaders left for Kerala and the headlines also started to read about their leader again.
16:34became anxious
16:35And KC Binuko Pal came out of this meeting and held a press conference.
16:40He did not hold a press conference. In fact, when journalists came, he gave them his comments with a heavy heart, after a formal conversation.
16:47I am an enthusiastic soldier of the party, I will do whatever I am told, but what were the operative parts?
16:52The first part, that the party must have taken this decision after considering all the issues, and the second part, when they were asked
17:00That generally the one who has the majority in the legislative party, who has the most say in the power of the people, should be made the Chief Minister.
17:06goes, then he said, I
17:22KC Benugopal watched his claims fall apart, where did the limelight go, where did the cameras go, where did the cameras go, VD Satheesan
17:31When he was stopping at Indira Bhavan, supporters were chanting "Yaakar" towards Satishan.
17:36What did I say, Balayalam Bha
17:52He spoke in a nonchalant manner and then said, I am a soldier of the party, I will run the government taking everyone along, but Satish's
18:02In their share, how did they get this power, there was a big reason, there was a reason, they have the support of 22 MLAs of IUML, and
18:10He is such a Congress
18:23Satishan, but he kept saying again and again that I will not let the secular fabric of Kerala break, this is a
18:30It was a big deal, and the IUML's support is crucial for Congress's Aalak Aman, who contested from the Vinayat seat.
18:36Rahul Gandhi will contest the elections in 2019 and 2024.
18:42was active, and the same applies to the Vinayak by-election, which Priyanka Gandhi won.
18:48And ensured his entry into the Lok Sabha, factor number one, along with Kerala Congress MLA Joseph and RLSP
18:56Which river
19:09We don't want a Shut Chief Minister, most MLAs may have been in favour of KC Vinugopal due to various obligations, but
19:17The party cadre was watching who would take on Pinarayi Vijayan, who has been in the Legislative Assembly for five years.
19:23He is taking this
19:39Actually, between May 9 and May 14, Rahul Gandhi consulted other leaders as well.
19:46The current president of the Kerala Congress, the working president, several former presidents and senior leaders like Sudakaran were called to Delhi.
19:55Or
20:07The Gandhi family called their oldest leader, AK Antony. AK Antony clearly has Chenni Thala, Satishan.
20:15He didn't name any of them, but he did say something in a different way,
20:22The signal was clear: Satishan should be supported, and thus, after a long exercise,
20:30After, okay, after 10-11 days of exercise, Kerala, before that the Congress legislative party
20:35and in between, the UDF got its new leader,
20:39We have the clues to this entire inside story thanks to our three political reporters, from Tyronn Kuram to Shaju Philip.
20:46And because of CG Manoj and Liz Mathew from Delhi, all three of them belong to this home state, so we
20:53All three report one by one
21:07that the MPs, whether it is Lok Sabha or Raji Sabha, will not contest the elections in the Kerala Assembly, so in that case,
21:14KC Vennu Kupal, end of the race, end of the race, but after the election, when the legislative party meeting was held
21:21In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala's capital
21:36So KC Vennu Kupal may not be a part of this race, but in Kerala, the public has a different mood.
21:43If it happens, then in the public imagination, VD Sadishan, who led the campaign, who was the leader of the person the
21:49Last five years, he was the automatic choice for the poster of Chief Minister, then public protests happen, posters
21:55Wars happen, it's all about command
21:58It comes closer, let's call all three of them to Delhi, VD Sadishan, M.S. Chanitala and KC Garan.
22:04All three of them express their views. Initially, they felt that the protests and understanding going on in Kerala
22:13He is, that orchestratorr ...
22:32If you meet Brushdan, then who is with you, who also lives with you, then
22:51BJP has got another new opportunity, but what decision has Congress taken now, the women's party
22:58He will naturally get a lot of popularity. Vikos BD is not a seat of popularity, Congress will get some lift for that.
23:09It will be available but BJP has already started this and has created a different narrative that Congress's...
23:16The one which is 63 is opposite to the left seat of Indian Union Muslim, those people are not their party.
23:24He has started posting on Facebook in such social media that this is his narrative which is a BD message.
23:32So a foreigner is not secular.
23:34So they have a conflict in Kerala between the Christian and Hindu people against the Muslims, whatever that is.
23:43Whatever BJP will try to exploit them a little, it seems like BJP's
23:52That VD sessions like
23:53It would be good for them if the political scene in Kerala is beneficial for them because
24:01Whatever decision they take in future, whatever decision the PD session takes, their Christians and Hindus will accept it.
24:10people them them
24:11That he will come into the influence of the Muslims and look at them, that is why Bijay P looks at him like this.
24:18He will try his best to make this opportunity, this chance, his favourable.
24:27This was the difference between Kerala and
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