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Thiruvananthapuram, May 15 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister-designate V D Satheesan met his predecessor Pinarayi Vijayan at the latter’s residence here on Friday.

Satheesan has been meeting senior leaders since Thursday after being named the chief minister by the AICC.

He reached Vijayan’s residence shortly after 12.10 pm.

Vijayan and his family came out to receive Satheesan, following which the two leaders went inside and held discussions.

Vijayan held Satheesan’s hand as he escorted him into the house.

They also spoke about health and diet while sharing light moments over tea. Vijayan was having green tea during the interaction. Satheesan also appreciated Vijayan’s disciplined lifestyle.

The residence was recently rented at Bakery Junction after the LDF lost power and Vijayan vacated the official residence.

Satheesan was the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly during Vijayan’s second tenure as chief minister from 2021 to 2026.

With Satheesan set to take over as chief minister, Vijayan, who has been elected as the CPI(M) legislature party leader, is expected to become the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

The two leaders had several exchanges, both inside and outside the Assembly, during the tenure of the previous government.

Before meeting Vijayan, Satheesan met Kerala Congress leader P J Joseph and other party leaders at the MLA hostel. He later visited the residence of former Speaker G Karthikeyan.

Satheesan became emotional on seeing Karthikeyan’s wife, M T Sulekha.

After interacting with Sulekha and their son, K S Sabarinadhan, a councillor in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Sulekha said that Satheesan was like an elder son to Karthikeyan.

Karthikeyan had been a mentor to Satheesan since he began his legislative career in 2001.

Satheesan also visited the residence of MP Adoor Prakash, who is the UDF convenor, and described him as a senior leader. PTI TBA TBA KH