The United Democratic Front (UDF) led by the Congress has staged a decisive comeback in Kerala, returning to power after a decade.
As per media reports, three prominent names are doing the rounds as the frontrunners for the post of Kerala Chief Minister: V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal, and Ramesh Chennithala.
Supporters of different leaders have put up posters across parts of Kerala, projecting their preferred candidate as the next CM. This public display of support has added to the pressure on the Congress high command, which will ultimately take the final call.
Satheesan, taking over as Leader of the Opposition after the party’s 2021 defeat, pushed an aggressive, issue-driven line against the Left government — from corruption allegations to governance failures — and repositioned the Congress as a sharper, more combative force.
A former state party president and Leader of the Opposition, Chennithala has spent decades navigating the party’s organisational and legislative wings. In the 2026 election, he won from Haripad in Alappuzha district with a margin of 23,377 votes.
Venugopal, a former MP from Alappuzha and a Union minister in the UPA government, currently serves as a powerful All India Congress Committee general secretary and is considered a close confidant of the central leadership.
