Uncertainty persists over Kerala CM choice; Chennithala to accept party decision

Uncertainty continues within the Congress party over the selection of Kerala's next Chief Minister, even two days after party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held discussions with the three contenders for the top post. Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, AICC general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal and Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan are the three leaders lobbying for the Chief Ministership of the state. The high command met the three leaders on Saturday in New Delhi. KPCC chief Sunny Joseph and AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunsi also attended the meeting. Party leaders here indicated on Monday that a decision is expected after Kharge meets senior leader Sonia Gandhi regarding the leadership issue. They also indicated that the high command is waiting for the political atmosphere in Kerala, which witnessed strong demonstrations and poster wars between supporters of Satheesan and Venugopal last week, to calm down further before making an announcement. After meeting Kharge and Rahul, the Kerala leaders and Dasmunsi jointly appealed to party workers to refrain from protests and flex-board campaigns over the leadership issue. As discussions continue behind the scenes, Congress leaders in Kerala remain in suspense over the final decision. Congress alliance partners are also said to be unhappy over the prolonged delay in deciding the Chief Minister, despite the alliance securing a massive mandate by winning 102 out of the 140 seats in the state. Asked about the delay in decision-making, a senior Congress leader, who did not wish to be named, said: ''The Assembly expires only on May 23. So there is no hurry -- why worry?'' Meanwhile, Chennithala said on Monday that whatever decision the party high command takes regarding the Chief Ministerial post would be accepted by all Congress and UDF workers in the state. ''We have conveyed whatever we had to say to the high command. They have heard everything. The rest is for them to decide,'' Chennithala told reporters after returning from New Delhi. He said the delay in taking the decision was part of a democratic process. ''All the discussions have been completed. We are not taking as much time as the Left Front took last time,'' Chennithala said. Whatever decision the party high command takes regarding the Chief Ministerial post in Kerala will be accepted by all Congress and UDF workers in the state, he added. Referring to the BJP criticism on the issue, Chennithala on Sunday said there was no need to respond when the BJP itself had taken days to decide on its CM in Delhi. After the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP came under attack from opposition parties over the alleged delay in announcing its CM candidate. He had criticised the BJP amid the ongoing deliberations over the selection of Kerala's next Chief Minister, saying the Congress was not a party that functioned on instructions from Nagpur. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan compared the ongoing uncertainty over the selection of Kerala's next chief minister to a train journey, saying there was no point in moving before the train reached the station. ''There is no point in walking inside a moving train. The train has not yet reached the station. One can get down only after it reaches the station,'' he told reporters here while responding to questions on the delay in announcing the Congress Legislature Party leader. Muraleedharan said it was difficult to predict when the Congress high command would announce its decision and that it would become known only when officially declared. ''Sometimes, due to adverse weather conditions, a train may get delayed in reaching the station,'' he said, extending the analogy to the ongoing deliberations within the party. He also acknowledged that the delay in taking a decision has caused unease among the public. ''There is anxiety among the people over the delay in the decision. Once the new government is formed and starts functioning, everything will change,'' he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)