Kerala assembly: Congress MLA VD Satheesan to be Leader of Opposition

"The AICC has nominated Satheesan as the leader of the party's parliamentary party in Kerala assembly. The KPCC wishes him all success," Ramachandran told reporters.

Satheesan, a powerful Congress leader from Ernakulam district-- a stronghold of the party in the state, said there would be changes in the opposition's traditional style of functioning both inside and outside of the Assembly. The new changes will be in accordance with the changes of the time. "I thank the party's national leadership and the senior leaders of Kerala for entrusting me with the role of Leader of the Opposition during the crisis of the UDF and the Congress," he told media in Kochi. He said he has a clear conviction that the post is not a flower crown.

An ardent supporter of Nehruvian socialism, Satheesan said there will be no compromise on any form of communalism. Both majority communalism and minority communalism will be opposed.

Graduating from the party's campus arm Kerala Students Union (KSU) to the Youth Congress, this is an upshot inSatheesan's political career.

In a steady and linear career spanning nearly four decades, often marked by narrow misses, Satheesan has stood firmly with the Congress, untouched by shifts in its fortunes. The Congress-led UDF will work to eliminate all forms of communalism, he said.

Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor congratulated Satheesan for becoming the Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly. “Congratulations& best wishes to @vdsatheesan, whose selection marks a major change for @INCKerala. Nine days away from turning 57, he has degrees in sociology& law, was active in @nsui &AICC, &performed outstandingly as Opposition MLA. A very able parliamentarian: all the best!” tweeted Tharoor.

(With inputs from PTI)