Battle for Paravur: Satheesan confronts Taison on home turf

KOCHI: (Mar 22) When V D Satheesan was chosen as Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly in 2021, it was seen as an experiment by the Congress-led UDF to revive its fortunes ahead of the 2026 elections.

Challenging a deeply entrenched Marxist leader like Pinarayi Vijayan, who is in his second term as CM, was considered by many analysts a herculean task for a politician who had risen through the ranks of Congress via student politics.

However, what Kerala witnessed was the phenomenal rise of a fiery strategist who led the UDF to victories in several by-elections, the Lok Sabha elections, and later in local body polls.