Cong workers bound to accept high command decision on Kerala CM: Muraleedharan

Congress leader K Muraleedharan on Sunday said party workers were bound to accept the decision of the high command regarding the selection of the next Chief Minister of Kerala. He was responding to reporters' questions here amid ongoing discussions within the Congress over the leadership issue following the party-led UDF's victory in the April 9 Assembly elections. Muraleedharan said the current debate over the chief ministerial post had not overshadowed the victory of the UDF. ''These are usual in the party. Let the decision come. It is the responsibility of every Congress worker to accept the decision of the leadership,'' he said. Senior Congress leaders V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala are considered frontrunners for the chief ministerial post, with the final decision to be taken by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge following a resolution passed by the newly elected 63 Congress MLAs. On Saturday, the party president and senior leaders met with Satheesan, Venugopal, and Chennithala. Supporters of the three leaders also held rallies, erected hoardings, and engaged in arguments on social media, prompting the party leadership to intervene. Muraleedharan, who won from the Vattiyoorkavu Assembly constituency, said the decision on the chief minister was likely to be made within two days of Saturday's discussions. He said the Congress had an established procedure for selecting the CM, under which the party high command takes a final decision after consulting MLAs and senior leaders. ''There is a generational change happening in Congress and disputes can happen. During the era of K Karunakaran, Oommen Chandy and A K Antony, there were no disputes because of their leadership. Now, new leaders have emerged, and there will be differences of opinion. But the Congress has mechanisms to resolve them,'' he said. He also said he had already conveyed his opinion on the choice of CM to the high command and that his stand would not change.

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