After Kerala Drubbing, Congress Picks VD Satheesan As Leader Of Opposition

The move comes amid growing calls of revamp across the Congress leadership in the state.

After Kerala Drubbing, Congress Picks VD Satheesan As Leader Of Opposition

VD Satheesan replaces Ramesh Chennithala as Leader of Opposition



Thiruvananthapuram:

Weeks after the Congress faced a crushing defeat in Kerala, the party has chosen VD Satheesan as the new leader of opposition. The 56-year-old leader replaces Ramesh Chennithala.

The move comes amid growing calls of revamp across the Congress leadership in the state.

VD Satheesan’s appointment to the post is being viewed as a beginning to the change.

Sources said elected representatives held one-on-one meetings with the Congress leadership in Delhi to discuss the overhaul.

VD Satheesan has won five times consecutively as a legislator. He rose through the Congress ranks from the Kerala Students Union, just like Ramesh Chennithala.

On Thursday, Pinarayi Vijayan was sworn in as Kerala Chief Minister for a second time after guiding the CPM-led Left Democratic Front government to a historic second successive term in the April-May election. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) bucked the trend in the southern state that has seen a see-saw politics in the last four decades and has alternated between the Left and the United Democratic Front.

Pinarayi Vijayan is heading an all-new 20-member cabinet – including 12 from the CPM and four from the CPI – with no carry-over – apart from himself. 

The alliance won 99 of 140 seats in this election, with the Congress-led UDF claiming 41 and the BJP failing to open its account.

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