Move over Argentina-backers, Kerala’s new Chief Minister is a Brazil supporter

A FIFA World Cup divides Kerala. In recent times, into various coloured fragments, but mostly between distinct hues of yellow and blue, the flavours of Brazil and Argentina respectively.

When the latest edition kicks off in a month, expect the canary yellow to be more profound as Kerala’s freshly anointed Chief Minister V D Satheesan is a self-declared fan of the Brazilian national team.

Unlike most Kerala politicians, who hide their true colours when it comes to declaring their allegiance to a World Cup-playing nation, Satheesan has been steadfast, at least on the basis of his remarks from four years ago.

"Brazil .. Brazil has always been the best team for me," Satheesan posted on Facebook in November 2022 as the World Cup kicked off in Qatar. He romanticised the Brazilian flair, calling the 'yellow, green, blue' jersey a symbol, an emotion to him since his childhood. "My generation carried the experience of Pele in our minds. Because of that, the question of who else is irrelevant; it is Brazil," Satheesan wrote.

He took part in at least two friendly football events in Kerala during the World Cup in Qatar. On both occasions, Satheesan was Team Brazil. In one of the events organised by the Ernakulam District Congress Committee, he competed against Team Argentina led by Mohammad Shiyas, the current MLA from Kochi.

After his side lost the match, Satheesan jokingly accused some of his teammates of secretly supporting Argentina. It is not quite possible to prove if any of his players secretly harboured a liking for the opponent, much like the ambiguity over the number of MLAs who backed his competitors, K C Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala, in a three-way race for the chief-ministership that took two weeks to resolve.

Whether he avenges that ‘friendly’ defeat or not, Satheesan’s yellow backers might argue he’s got one over his predecessor, Pinarayi Vijayan, whose government, for a good period during its second term, chased Leo Messi’s Argentina, and lost. The previous government was left embarrassed after failing to bring the World Cup-winning Argentina team to Kerala despite repeated claims.