India, May 15 -- Congress on Thursday announced VD Satheesan as its pick to be Kerala's chief minister over its senior leader and member of Parliament KC Venugopal, who was the preferred choice for the party's high-command. Even when chances for Satheesan were looking dim, he refused to back down from the fight for the top job and reminded the party leadership of the role he played in reviving Congress-led United Democratic Front's (UDF) foothold in the state.

In behind the scenes of how the new Kerala chief minister was picked after Congress' thumping victory in the state, KC Venugopal had a clear advantage - "overwhelming support" of party legislators, parliamentarians and other senior leaders. However, Satheesan told Rahul Gandhi duri...