The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) secured a landslide victory in Kerala's Assembly election, winning 102 out of 140 seats and ending a decade of Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule.
After much discussion and deliberation, Congress is set to announce the name of the next chief minister today. Top contenders include senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala, V D Satheesan and AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal.
KC Venugopal, a close confidant of Rahul Gandhi, is currently the frontrunner for the job, backed by seven leaders. He has a rich political history, having entered politics through the student wing of the Congress and serving as president of the Kerala Students Union and state president of the Indian Youth Congress.
Venugopal represented Alappuzha as an MLA for three consecutive terms between 1996 and 2009 and later won the Alappuzha Lok Sabha seat in both 2009 and 2014. He was inducted into the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government as a junior minister, handling portfolios including power and civil aviation.
As the AICC General Secretary (Organisation), Venugopal oversees key organisational matters ranging from candidate selection and alliance management to internal discipline and membership drives.
