New Delhi: Ten days after the Congress-led UDF won the assembly elections in Kerala, the party on Thursday (May 14) ended almost two weeks of suspense and announced the former leader of opposition in the state, V.D. Satheesan, as the next chief minister by naming him as the leader of the Congress legislature party.“The Congress Legislature Party had met in Thiruvananthapuram on May 7 and had unanimously resolved to authorise the Congress president to appoint the new leader of the CLP in the state of Keralam,” said AICC general secretary in-charge of Kerala, Deepa Dasmunsi, at a press conference in New Delhi.“Accordingly, the Congress president has held extensive discussions with the Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the AICC observers who had met with the newly elected MLAs…and many other leaders from the state, including MPs and former PCC presidents, were also consulted. Based on all these discussions, it has been decided that V.D. Satheesan be appointed as the leader of the CLP,” she added.The announcement marks almost two weeks of suspense over who would be given the top job in the state between three claimants, including Satheesan, Congress MP and general secretary K.C. Venugopal and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala. Satheesan thanked Venugopal, Chennithala and Sunny Joseph, as he spoke to reporters after the decision. “We worked hard for the people’s welfare, with intentions to create a new state, I consider this as divine,” he said.Venugopal told reporters that he welcomed the decision wholeheartedly, shortly after the announcement.“The final decision has come, and the Congress high command decided V.D. Satheesan as the Chief Ministerial candidate for Keralam Government. I am welcoming that decision wholeheartedly,” he said.“I am congratulating V.D. Satheesan on this position. I think that people of Keralam have given a big verdict for the UDF. The government and the leadership of V.D. Satheesan can fulfil the aspirations and promises of the people of Keralam. Certainly, we are totally behind the government of Keralam,” he added.Rounds of talksOn the evening of May 13, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met for a final round of discussions that lasted about 40 minutes. However the announcement was deferred till Thursday. While a meeting of the CLP was scheduled for 1 pm in Thiruvananthapuram, last minute meetings were held in New Delhi on Thursday morning. Venugopal met Gandhi at his residence, while central observers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik and the party’s general secretary communications Jairam Ramesh met Kharge at his residence.Following the declaration of the assembly election results on May 4, hectic parlays continued over who would be made chief minister, with Venugopal and Satheesan emerging as the frontrunners.Satheesan had earlier received the support of the Congress’ allies in the state including the IUML which won 22 seats. He was also credited with the party’s win in the state, through which it the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government after a decade.Venugopal, on the other hand, also had the support of a section of Congress MLAs, even though he did not contest the 2026 assembly elections. Making him the chief minister would then again warrant bypolls in the state as Venugopal is a Lok Sabha MP from Alapuzzha. The Congress high command too has only on few occasions made sitting MPs chief ministers after elections have been won. The last such instance was in 2018 when Kamal Nath, then a sitting MP, was made Madhya Pradesh chief minister.The party also faced criticism in recent days over its delay in picking the chief minister as it held wider consultations over 10 days. These included meetings between Gandhi and former KPCC presidents including M.M. Hassan, K. Sudhakaran, K. Muralidharan and V.M. Sudheeran, as well as MP Shafi Parambil. Meanwhile posters emerged targeting both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Wayanad as tensions peaked over the impasse in choosing the chief minister.The Congress won 63 seats in the 2026 assembly elections. Among its allies, IUML won 22, Kerala Congress won eight, and the Revolutionary Socialist Party won three seats.