Congress Names VD Satheesan as New Kerala Chief Minister

VD Satheesan will be the new chief minister of Kerala. The Congress party on Thursday finally announced his name, ending the suspense that had been going on for the past 11 days. Satheesan's election clearly means that Congress general secretary KC Venugopal has been removed., Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge held final consultations with top party leaders before announcing the chief ministerial candidate for Kerala. The discussions with Kharge included AICC general secretary in-charge Deepa Dasmunsi and two senior observers - Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik. The trio recently spoke to all the newly elected MLAs and sought their views. The results of the Kerala assembly elections were announced on May 4, but the Congress has not finalised its chief ministerial candidate even after 11 days. Rahul Gandhi had a 30-minute meeting with Kharge on Wednesday evening, where the party's chief ministerial candidate was discussed. Later on Thursday morning, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi met Venugopal.