Kerala CM-designate credits his political rise and alliance’s success to collective party work

Kerala Chief Minister-designate V D Satheesan on Thursday said that the Congress party has entrusted him with a huge responsibility and views the high command’s decision to choose him as Chief Minister as a divine mandate.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday after being named the next Chief Minister of Kerala, Satheesan expressed deep gratitude to the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi.

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He stated that he does not view the high office as a “personal achievement”, but openly credited the massive victory to the grueling on-ground work of lakhs of UDF alliance workers and leaders.
He emphasized that he reached this milestone entirely through the support of lakhs of grassroots workers and the cohesive force of “Team UDF”.

“It was the UDF team that made me who I am. UDF’ was behind this victory and that it was the front that brought me to this point, ” he said, crediting his political rise and the alliance’s success to collective party work rather than individual identity.

The Chief Minister-designate promised to establish a “new era” and a “new Kerala” specifically tailored for the next generation and youth. He emphasized delivering good governance with “no compromises” despite a challenging state fiscal situation.

Stating that “only a collective effort can build a new Keralam,” he emphasized no single leader can achieve this alone.

He explicitly thanked the other contenders for the post, K. C. Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala stated that he would take them into complete confidence to run a unified team government. “K C Venugopal coordinated the work in Kerala. Ramesh Chennithala , who worked as the campaign committee chairman,is also my leader,” he said.

Satheesan announced plans to change the definition of political work, prioritizing the uplifting of marginalized sections and boosting the public’s living standards.

He stated that Congress leaders will convene a Legislative Party meeting before meeting Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to formally stake claim to form the next UDF government.

Deepa Das Munshi announced the decision to name Satheesan as the new Chief Minister of Kerala at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Thursday. The Congress high command chose a generational shift, prioritizing public sentiment over majority MLA support for other contenders.