Indian politics has seen dramatic walkouts, political realignments, viral gaffes and fiery speeches. What it rarely produces, however, is a politician who rises to prominence not through power or controversy, but by becoming an unlikely internet sensation.

That is precisely what V.D. Satheesan has become. Armed with expressive reactions and an undeniably endearing "pookie" persona, he has won over a generation of social media users.

In an online landscape dominated by AI-generated content and memes, Satheesan's greatest asset is not polished statesmanship or carefully crafted optics. Instead, it is a series of memorable facial expressions that have turned him into the internet's latest Gen Z obsession.

One perfectly timed expression.

And the internet decided that’s the Pookie CM they wanted on their meme templates.

In a viral video that has gained momentum faster than a bullet train, CM Satheesan’s Kathakali-style facial expression after a reporter asked his stance on vehicle modifications in the state has made several rounds through the internet.

Instead of launching into a political counterattack, he gave a look that can only be described as “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

The internet got its fodder and decided there was no time to waste.

Rather than focusing on what the reporter had asked, viewers were busy dissecting ‘what was that expression’ on Kerala’s pookie CM’s face?

Satheesan later had an explanation for that while holding an interaction with someone in his office.

In the video, Satheesan can be seen saying that he felt affectionate for the young man present, and his expression was a way of conveying a message that everything would be taken care of.

A video shared by content creator Vinoy P Alexander, known online as “thetimingwizard,” too had created quite a buzz among the internet wizards. The video shows him sitting in his living room with a liquor bottle in hand while footage of Satheesan played on his TV. The video perfectly synchronised Vinoy’s actions with the CM’s expressions and reactions, creating an illusion that he was having a real conversation with him.

Again, when V.D. Satheesan entered his mentor’s house, the internet did not expect meme-worthy shots, but he delivered.

Visiting the Thiruvananthapuram residence of the late Congress stalwart G. Karthikeyan and after meeting his wife M.T. Sulekha and son, Congress leader K. Sabarinadhan, Satheesan could not hold back his tears from rolling down.

One compared the moment as if he had won an Olympic gold medal while another user said Karthikeyan’s wife probably said, “A CM should not cry like this.”

Another commented that this is the exact emotion you feel when you know that after becoming CM, it would all be ‘paisa hi paisa' (money and money).

While politicians spent decades deciding on how to improve the Centre-state relationship, the internet decided that Satheesan walking in and smiling at Amit Shah is the ultimate strategy you need to ace the challenge.

One user said that if V. D. Satheesan can get a laugh out of Amit Shah, nearly 70 percent of Kerala's problems with the Centre might already be halfway solved.

Forget backroom negotiations, Kerala’s CM has discovered the ‘raaz’ behind Centre-state cooperation.

Another viral video felt strangely familiar to anyone who has watched a Vijay press interaction. A report asks a well-prepared question, expects a seething answer, but gets silence in return. Satheesan listens. He smiles. He nods. He continues smiling. The reporter waits. Everyone waits and keeps on waiting.

While the silence becomes uncomfortable for the reporters, for the newly elected CM, he has never been more comfortable when it comes to answering difficult questions, or rather ‘not answering difficult questions at all’.

Another video making rounds is a snap from a news conference.

The allegation was that Satheesan had a hand in the Enforcement Directorate raids on former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Satheesan's response was simple.

"I told Modi, raid Pinarayi. Not at one place, but at 12 locations."

For the internet, this was pure entertainment with 3Es.