The suspense over Kerala’s next Chief Minister persisted on Saturday as Congress leaders held an extended round of discussions in New Delhi, but no final decision emerged from the meeting.
AICC general secretary and Congress state in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi told reporters that deliberations on the leadership issue were still ongoing. She confirmed that all Congress MLAs had signed a one-line resolution authorising the high command to take the final call on who will lead the new United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala.
Deepa Dasmunshi said the ultimate decision will be made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi.
The crucial discussions in Delhi are reportedly nearing it's end after intense lobbying, public campaigns and internal consultations within the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) following its sweeping Assembly election victory.
The high-level meeting, which commenced at 4 pm at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, is being attended by senior leaders Rahul Gandhi, V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC chief Sunny Joseph. AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken, who submitted their report to Kharge on Friday after consulting MLAs and alliance partners, are also participating in the deliberations.
The leadership question has triggered visible factional mobilisation across Kerala, with supporters of senior Congress leaders V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala openly campaigning for their respective leaders through posters, flex boards, road shows and demonstrations.
Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan on Saturday indicated that the decision-making process in New Delhi had entered its final phase.
“The information from Delhi is that discussions on the chief ministerial candidate will be completed within 24 hours,” Muraleedharan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.
However, he cautioned that public displays of support alone would not determine the leadership issue.
“Flex boards and demonstrations cannot decide who becomes Chief Minister. I conveyed the sentiments of the people from my constituency to the party leadership,” he said, adding that seniority was not the only criterion and that the opinions of coalition partners and MLAs would also be taken into account.
The Congress-led UDF registered a decisive victory in the Assembly elections, winning 102 of the 140 seats, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF) was reduced to 35 seats and the BJP secured three constituencies.
Following the victory, the Congress Legislature Party had passed a resolution authorising the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leadership to decide the next leader of the legislature party, effectively handing the final call to the party high command.
The focus has now shifted entirely to New Delhi, where senior Kerala Congress leaders, including Satheesan, Chennithala and KPCC president Sunny Joseph, arrived on Friday night for consultations with the central leadership.
Sunny Joseph said a key meeting involving the top contenders would be held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence and expressed hope that a consensus would emerge quickly.
“We expect a quick decision. The matter has been completely left to the AICC leadership,” he said.
At the same time, Joseph appealed to party workers to refrain from public demonstrations and poster campaigns over the Chief Ministerial issue.
The political atmosphere within the Congress has become increasingly tense over the past few days, with supporters of different factions openly projecting their preferred candidates. Posters backing Chennithala appeared in Idukki, while flex boards supporting Venugopal surfaced in Thiruvananthapuram soon after the UDF’s landslide victory. Supporters of Satheesan also organised marches and demonstrations demanding that the Leader of Opposition be elevated as Chief Minister.
The growing factional activity has drawn criticism from several senior Congress leaders.
Veteran leader P J Kurien condemned incidents involving the destruction of flex boards and attempts to pressure the party leadership through public campaigns.
“Everyone has the right to express opinions. But destroying flex boards and pouring black oil on them is wrong. A Chief Minister cannot be decided through pressure tactics,” he said.
Congress MLA T Siddique also expressed concern over public attacks against senior leaders and urged workers to maintain party discipline.
“Leaders who dedicated their lives to public activity should not be humiliated in public. This is not Congress culture,” Siddique said.
He nevertheless expressed confidence that the Congress high command would resolve all differences through a unanimous decision.
Congress MP Rajmohan Unnithan further intensified the debate on Saturday after strongly criticising the destruction of a flex board featuring K C Venugopal and late Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy.
Calling such actions “divisive tactics,” Unnithan said all three leaders — Satheesan, Venugopal and Chennithala — were legitimate contenders for the Chief Minister’s post and that supporters were free to campaign for them within the limits of party discipline.
“People who destroyed the flexboard of Venugopal, which also carried Oommen Chandy’s image, cannot be seen as part of Congress,” he said.
Unnithan also defended the Indian Union Muslim League’s right to comment on the leadership issue after remarks by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan suggesting that the IUML should not interfere in Congress internal affairs.
The Kasaragod MP argued that all UDF constituents, including the IUML, Kerala Congress and Revolutionary Socialist Party, had a stake in the formation of the next government and were entitled to express their opinions.
“In fact, all the minority and religious groups who helped the UDF win are eligible to express their views on the matter,” he said.
He also urged party workers to wait for the high command’s decision instead of escalating factional campaigns in public.
Meanwhile, Kerala Congress (Joseph) leader and MLA-elect Apu John Joseph asserted that his party was entitled to two ministerial berths in the new UDF government, though he clarified that discussions on portfolios would begin only after the Chief Ministerial issue was resolved.
As Congress leaders continue deliberations in the national capital, the CPI(M) accused the party of being consumed by factionalism even before forming the government.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said the infighting within the Congress had become visible to the public.
“Kerala’s political picture is that three persons are making strong preparations to become the Chief Minister. The infighting in Congress has now intensified,” he said.
The Congress observers appointed to collect the views of newly elected MLAs submitted their report to Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday, after consulting legislators as well as coalition partners.
With consultations nearing completion and mounting pressure from rival camps, the Congress high command is expected to announce its decision on Kerala’s next Chief Minister shortly.
(With inputs from PTI)
