NEW DELHI: The suspense over Kerala’s chief minister pick continued on Saturday with the Congress high command signalling that a final decision would be taken “in due time”, even as the leadership cracked down on the intense lobbying and street protests by supporters of the three main contenders: V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala.
Sources said senior leader Rahul Gandhi reprimanded the leaders over open factionalism, warning that the unrest was tarnishing the party’s massive electoral mandate.
The chief ministerial deadlock remained unresolved even after top leaders held nearly three hours of discussions with the frontrunners.
According to sources, Rahul was unhappy that lobbying for the top post had begun almost immediately after the election results, saying the leaders could not wait even for a few days for the high command’s decision.
He also urged the leaders to rein in their supporters and end internal divisions.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul also held separate one-on-one meetings with the contenders, during which each of them presented arguments in support of their candidature. Sources said that Venugopal may currently have an edge, with the backing of more than 45 newly elected MLAs.
As per Congress convention, the leadership generally weighs legislators’ preferences heavily while selecting a chief minister. Venugopal is learned to have told the leadership that he has always adhered to the party line, and contested both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha elections at Rahul’s direction.
Satheesan, meanwhile, argued that he had led the UDF to a stunning victory of 102 seats despite not being on an equal footing with Venugopal, who had greater organisational leverage.
Speaking after the meeting, AICC state in charge Deepa Dasmunsi said the final decision on the new chief minister would be taken by Kharge and Rahul and announced soon. “The final decision has to be taken by the high command. In due course, the due process will be completed,” she said, adding that May 23 was the deadline for government formation.
Leaders urge workers to remove flex, avoid rallies
The meeting convened at Kharge’s residence was also attended by KPCC president Sunny Joseph and senior observers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik. Deepa Dasmunsi said all Congress MLAs had signed a one line resolution authorising the high command to choose the chief minister.
Referring to protests and demonstrations by rival groups over the past two days, she said such ‘unruly incidents’ were not in keeping with the Congress culture. “People have given us a landslide majority and this kind of activity should stop immediately,” she said.
Satheesan too appealed for restraint from his supporters, warning that public lobbying will dent the image of the party after its convincing victory. “We received a stunning mandate and this will reflect badly on us. All three of us are together in saying that these campaigns should stop,” he said, urging workers to remove flex boards and avoid rallies.
Endorsing his views, Venugopal said: “There have been some unfortunate incidents, and they should be ended.” While noting that there is nothing wrong with a section of people preferring a certain leader, he said campaigns tarnishing the image of others should be stopped.
Chennithala said they have decided that there will be no demonstrations in Kerala. Flexboards should not be put up and publicity highlighting individual leaders should not be carried out, he said.
The battle for the top post turned ugly across the state as supporters of the leaders organised rallies, social media campaigns and demonstrations in their favour. The Congress leadership was also upset over the protests against KPCC chief Sunny Joseph on his arrival in Delhi on Friday night.