Thiruvananthapuram: Austrian Parliament member and founding leader of the ruling NEOS party, Veit Valentin Dengler, has congratulated VD Satheesan on assuming office as Chief Minister. In an Instagram post, Dengler wished that Kerala would witness rapid development under Satheesan’s leadership.

Sharing a photograph taken with Satheesan during his earlier visit to Thiruvananthapuram, when Satheesan was the Leader of the Opposition, Dengler wrote: Congratulations to the new Chief Minister of Kerala. After a convincing electoral victory, he takes over from the defeated Communist coalition government. May his tenure bring continued fast development of the state to fulfill its enormous potential. I look forward to Austria developing closer relationships with India, in particular with Kerala.

During his visit to Kerala, Dengler had also met former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. At the time, he had shared another Instagram post praising Kerala for achieving significant social and economic progress within India.

Dengler, who previously worked in the media sector, later entered politics.