THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For Opposition Leader VD Satheesan it's the first crucial Lok Sabha election ever since he became the Congress Legislative Party Leader in 2021. After Oommen Chandy - Ramesh Chennithala’s tenure, now the onus is on Satheesan to prove his mettle in the Lok Sabha election where his aim is for a clean sweep in all the 20 seats. If so, it will keep Satheesan in good stead over others in the rat race towards the Chief Minister's seat during the 2026 Assembly election.
When Congress state president K Sudhakaran was forced to defend his Lok Sabha seat in Kannur, it gave added responsibility to Satheesan. UDF convener M M Hassan who holds charge of the Congress state president has been currently holding dual roles. But unfortunately the organizational weakness has always been a bane for the party where even now the situation has been the same. The delay in appointing the mandalam presidents has been a detrimental factor for the Congress. But a former Congress state president on condition of anonymity told TNIE that Satheesan should be thankful to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the anti-incumbency has only sidelined the organizational lapses.
“Satheesan led the party during the two by-elections in Thrikkakara and in Puthupally. The entire party machinery could be brought in there which clinched the victories. But now the onus is on Satheesan to ensure that he betters the 19 seats won by the UDF in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. I would say that Satheesan is lucky as the anti-incumbency has become a crucial factor in favour of him”, said a former Congress state president.
But there are certain leaders who do not wish to give Satheesan due credit where they claim that it’s All-India Congress Committee general secretary (organization) K C Venugopal who is the mastermind behind the 2024 Lok Sabha election. It only shows that the road ahead is not going to be smooth for Satheesan in pursuit of the 2026 Assembly election. A veteran Congress leader told TNIE that it’s Venugopal who is a formidable force right from deciding the candidature, releasing funds and setting the agenda towards campaigning.
“It’s Venu’s dream to achieve 20/20 seats in this general election. Also, it’s a matter of pride for him to stand tall among those former senior Congress leaders who had quit the party over the last few years as they had been blaming him for the rout. If there’s a clean sweep, the credit would go in favour of Venu and if not, the barometer will turn against Satheesan”, said a veteran Congress leader.
There are chances of organizational revamping at the top level post the Lok Sabha election. But again that depends on the poll outcome.