Thiruvananthapuram: Congress Chief Minister candidate for Kerala V D Satheesan on Thursday thanked the party high command for giving him such a “huge responsibility” and said that the government will work to deliver on the promises made to the public and improve their standard of living.
“The people of Kerala have given us a big responsibility. They ended a 10-year long Left rule and gave us power by helping us win 102 of the 140 assembly seats. So, what we promised to the public, we will fulfil one-by-one. We will all work hard with devotion to improve the living standards of the people, change Kerala, create a new Kerala and start a ‘puthu yugam’ (new era),” he asserted.
“We will rewrite the definition of political and public work,” he told reporters here. Besides expressing his gratitude to Rahul Gandhi, Satheesan also thanked Congress general secretary K C Venugopal and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala.
He said Venugopal coordinated the AICC efforts and supported all party activities, which helped it achieve a huge victory in the assembly polls in the state. “Each day he would ask about our activities and support all of them,” he said.
He said that Chennithala worked as the campaign committee chairman and termed him as “my leader also”.
Both Venugopal and Chennithala were also in the race for CM’s post. Satheesan said that he will take both of them into his confidence going forward.
He also thanked Congress general secretary in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunsi and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sunny Joseph for their efforts to help the UDF win in the state.
He thanked the lakhs of hardworking party workers and the UDF coalition partners’ leaders for helping him achieve the post of chief minister, which he termed as “a divine gift” and not something personal. “I am indebted to the party workers and UDF partner leaders for it,” he said.
Satheesan said the party will work to deliver on the promises made to the public and to improve their standard of living. Satheesan said that they had presented a complicated picture of Kerala before the people who will have to stand united to deal with it.
“I am seeking the help of all communities and the opposition to save the state and create a new Kerala. For that we need to build a good team. No one can do anything on their own,” he said. He also conveyed his heartfelt gratitude to the people of Kerala.
He rejected reporters’ queries on whether the delay was embarrassing, saying that there were certain formalities associated with the selection of CM.
“When a lot of things come before the leadership, they examine all its aspects, hold discussions with MLAs, MPs, senior leaders, among others and then take a decision. That is because the Congress has a galaxy of leaders,” he said. He further said that people supported UDF as it stood as a team and worked as one party. “That is how we will move forward,” he said.
He also said that the ministers will be decided by the party and not by him. “Party will seek my view and that of other leaders and will take a decision,” he said.
