Chennithala loses what could be his final chance at Kerala CM post

Thiruvananthapuram | For senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, the party-led UDF’s return to power in Kerala appeared to offer perhaps the best, and possibly last, opportunity to become CM after a political career spanning nearly five decades.

But the post eventually went to V D Satheesan, a younger leader who once worked under him in the party organisation, leaving Chennithala once again just short of the top office despite years of loyalty to the Congress high command and the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Soon after the party announced Satheesan as CM, Chennithala remained out of public view.

Media persons waiting outside his residence in Thiruvananthapuram did not get to meet him, as he quietly left the house. He is understood to have headed to the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple.

Among many Congress workers, the development triggered a sense of sympathy for a leader often seen as one of Kerala’s most loyal yet politically unfortunate Congress faces.

Chennithala, 70, has long been associated with the Nehru-Gandhi family.

During Indira Gandhi’s tenure, he rose to become president of the National Students’ Union of India, and later headed the Indian Youth Congress during Rajiv Gandhi’s time.

Many leaders who worked alongside him during those years later became chief ministers or union ministers, while his own political journey progressed more slowly.

Even leaders who once worked under him in the Youth Congress eventually rose to major positions earlier than him.

Yet Chennithala remained a steady presence in the organisation, rarely distancing himself from the party leadership, even during difficult periods.

Speaking to PTI, a close associate of Chennithala recalled his long association with the Nehru-Gandhi family, saying it spans generations within the Congress.

He said Chennithala served as NSUI president during Indira Gandhi’s tenure, Youth Congress chief during Rajiv Gandhi’s leadership, KPCC president during Sonia Gandhi’s time, and later became Leader of the Opposition when Rahul Gandhi emerged as the party’s central figure.

Interestingly, both Satheesan and AICC general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, who later emerged as key contenders for the chief minister’s post, had worked under Chennithala during different phases of his organisational career, he added.

A Congress Working Committee member and one of the party’s senior-most leaders from Kerala, Chennithala, retained his Haripad Assembly seat in Alappuzha district with a massive margin in the latest election, once again proving his strong base in central Kerala.

Born in Chennithala near Mavelikara in Alappuzha district, he entered politics through the Kerala Students Union (KSU) in the 1970s before becoming state president of the organisation. His rise was rapid.

By 1982, he became national president of the NSUI and entered electoral politics the same year by winning the Haripad Assembly seat.

His political growth continued quickly.

In 1986, Congress stalwart K Karunakaran inducted him into the Kerala Cabinet, making him one of the youngest ministers in the state at the time.

Later, Chennithala shifted to parliamentary politics and won multiple Lok Sabha elections from Kottayam and Mavelikara.

Though he suffered defeats at different points, he repeatedly rebuilt his career and remained relevant in both state and national politics.

After losing the Mavelikara Lok Sabha seat in 2004, he returned fully to Kerala politics and served as Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president for a decade, playing a key organisational role during some difficult years for the party.

In 2014, amid growing pressure from Congress workers, he joined the Oommen Chandy ministry and handled the Home portfolio.

Following the UDF’s defeat in 2016, he became Leader of the Opposition and emerged as one of the strongest critics of the Pinarayi Vijayan government.

However, after the UDF’s defeat in the 2021 Assembly polls, the Congress leadership replaced him with Satheesan as Leader of the Opposition, signalling a generational shift within the party.

Despite that setback, Chennithala continued to remain active and influential within the Congress organisation.

He is also known for maintaining good relations with major Hindu caste organisations such as the NSS and SNDP, besides enjoying cordial ties with Christian and Muslim community leaders.

Within the Congress, many see him as a leader with a clean image, strong organisational experience, and wide political acceptability.

But despite repeatedly coming close to the top post, the chief minister’s chair has continued to elude him.

For his supporters, the latest development is another painful reminder of how a leader who spent decades standing firmly with the party leadership once again saw the opportunity slip away at the final moment.