Congress high command’s dithering before confirming Satheesan as Kerala CM has taken shine off the big win, and is a bad sign for the future
VD Satheesan’s rise as the most popular political figure in Kerala, and now CM-designate, cannot be understood merely through the conventional language of electoral arithmetic, or anti-incumbency. His popularity arose from a deeper political shift: transformation of opposition politics from discourse, centred on administrative criticism and developmental activities, into one organised around dignity, democratic anxiety, social recognition, and affective reassurance.