India, May 17 -- Even as Congress named V. D. Satheesan as Keralam Chief Minister, knocking out from the race contenders such as K. C. Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala, party insiders said that it was not an easy decision to make. This was obvious from the multiple discussions held on the matter by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge with chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP), Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress announced the name of Satheesan after a delay of 10 days. He will take oath on May 18, Monday, exactly two weeks after the results were declared on May 4.

Party insiders said that the Congress was in a fix as Venugopal emerged as the frontrunner to the top post follow...