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Kerala News

The New Indian Express News

Kerala / The New Indian Express

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Satheesan prepares road to 2026 after winning semi-finals

KOCHI: On Monday afternoon, the Ernakulam Town Hall will turn into a theatre of Congress triumph. Winners of the local body polls from across Ernakulam district including Kochi Corporation will assemble for victory celebrations, inaugurated by V D Satheesan, the Leader of the Opposition, who has just steered the party through its most emphatic performance in years. MPs, MLAs, former legislators, DCC and KPCC office-bearers, mandalam and block presidents will be present, but the subtext will be unmistakable: the semi-final is over, and Satheesan aims to use the occasion to send the message across: the UDF is ready for the finals. That the big celebration is organised in Ernakulam is no coincidence. This is Satheesans home turf, politically and emotionally. Of the districts 14 assembly constituencies, five are currently held by the Left Democratic Front. Satheesans internal calculation is bold: turn Ernakulam into a near-sweep for the UDF in 2026, possibly 13 out of 14 seats. For a Congress leader with chief ministerial ambitions, no district matters more. Satheesans rise has been defined less by titles and more by timing. He became Leader of the Opposition in 2021 after two consecutive assembly defeats for the UDF, at a moment when the party was searching for coherence and credibility. Under his leadership, the Congress regrouped, winning crucial by-elections and now delivering sweep-like victories in the local body polls, including four corporations. His firm stand on expelling rape-accused MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, despite internal discomfort, and his refusal to buckle under pressure tactics by P V Anvar while deciding the Congress candidate for the Nilambur bypoll, are now widely seen within the party as defining moments. At the time, both decisions invited criticism and unease. In hindsight, they have strengthened Satheesans authority, projecting him as a leader willing to privilege credibility and discipline over expediency. A law graduate who practised for nearly a decade at the Kerala High Court, he entered the assembly in 2001 from Paravur and has never looked back, winning the seat five times in a row. His margins grew, his floor speeches sharpened, and his reputation as a meticulous political reader solidified. Yet, his career is also marked by near-misses. Satheesan has never been a Youth Congress president, KPCC president, or minister. Time and again, the final step seemed just out of reach the familiar gap between the cup and the lip. Whether 2026 will finally bridge that gap remains the unanswered question. The LDF will not concede ground easily, and within the Congress too, a UDF victory would unleash its own battle among chief ministerial aspirants. For now, though, Satheesan has reason to savour the moment. The semi-final is won and the final, looming next year, will decide whether this long political journey ends at the summit or pauses once more just short of it.

15 Dec 2025 8:35 am