How Satheesan and Team UDF scripted stunning Nilambur bypoll

The mood in the state Congress and UDF has been celebratory ever since the comfortable victory in the LDF-held seat of Nilambur. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan, termed Captain by his followers following the stunning victory of the party in the Thrikkakara, Puthupally and Palakkad byelections earlier, is no longer the sole focal point within the alliance, which he himself has realised.

Following the UDF’s victory in the three seats in 2022, the credit went to Satheesan, as he often called the shots unilaterally. In Puthupally, the open tussle between Satheesan and the then KPCC president K Sudhakaran at a press conference over who would talk first had destroyed the glow of the victory. Organisationally, too, Satheesan was accused of being arrogant to leaders.

However, Nilambur has shown that a collective effort was behind the UDF’s victory this time round. It was evident in the way Satheesan himself gave credit to ‘Team UDF’ in his press conference and corrected the media for giving him sole credit.