India, May 15 -- The choice of VD Satheesan as the new chief minister (CM) of Kerala is significant. It is, in some ways, a victory for a large cross-section of the electorate, which backed the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the assembly election. The Congress high command wanted to impose AICC general secretary, KC Venugopal, who didn't contest the election but claimed to have a majority in the legislature party, on the high office. Public protests, allies' insistence, and cautious advice from senior party functionaries forced the Delhi leadership to rethink its stance. The delay, as the party seemed to be keen to find a way to install Venugopal as CM, drew public ridicule, but the unprecedented gesture of bowing to voters rather than leaders is a win for democracy. Satheesan, 61, ticks many boxes. He will be the first Kerala CM born in the post-Independence era. He is the first from his family to join politics and contest elections. He rose from the grassroots, served for nearly a quarter century as a legislator (including five years as leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly), and led the victorious UDF campaign. His public image as a voracious reader and author serves him well in a state that takes pride in its high literacy. Whether these are enough for him to steer the government through Kerala's political whirlpools is anybody's guess. Implementing the Indira Guarantees, promised by the UDF in its manifesto, will be a challenge in a state burdened by heavy public debt, huge welfare expenditures, and limited avenues to raise revenues. The CPM-led Left Democratic Front is nursing its wounds after the crushing defeat, and the BJP is eyeing an opening in Kerala - it won three seats, up from none, and finished second in six seats. Besides, the Congress in Kerala has always been a den of factions; the healthy competition for leadership after the verdict could turn into a vicious faction warif ambitions and egos are not accommodated. This is also a moment of reflection for the Congress leadership. Kerala delivered a decisive verdict onMay 4, and the UDF, after a decade in the opposition, won 102 of the 140 seats in the assembly. The Congresswon 63 seats, equalling its highest tally ever in thestate in 1960, and the pre-poll alliance hammeredthe Left Democratic Front even in the CPM's northern Kerala strongholds. The mandate was as much for Satheesan, the Congress's face in the campaign, yetthe leadership nearly made a mess of the win,rooting for a candidate who had not even contested the election, reminding people of events in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan following the 2018 elections, and Karnataka, after the 2023 election....