Thiruvananthapuram: As uncertainty drags on over Kerala’s next chief minister, the Congress central teamhas invited former KPCC presidents and working presidents to Delhi on Tuesday for vital opinions before the big announcement, PTI reported.
Among those headed to Delhi are ex-KPCC presidents V M Sudheeran, Mullappally Ramachandran, K Muraleedharan, K Sudhakaran, and M M Hassan; senior MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan; besides working presidents P C Vishnunath, Shafi Parambil and A P Anil Kumar. Party sources anticipate a swift resolution once the Tuesday consultations wrap up.
Camps Push Frontrunners
The Primary contenders are Ramesh Chennithala, V D Satheesan, and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal. This comes after party watchers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik met MLAs and talked to the three plus Kerala Congress chief Sunny Josep — yet indecision lingers.
Satheesan’s backers remain hopeful, as former presidents Sudheeran and Muraleedharan urge considering public mood. He commands robust support from UDF workers and IUML allies, whose position his camp says mirrors grassroots sentiment. They warn that picking Venugopal risks two bypolls—one for his assembly seat, another for Alappuzha Lok Sabha—highly dangerous in the current state climate.
Venugopal’s group, linked to the working presidents, says most MLAs back him. He’s a smart planner who can win those extra polls, and most Kerala Congress MPs support him too.
Chennithala’s supporters say he’s the oldest and most loyal to the party and Nehru-Gandhi family, standing firm in tough times. Many leaders he trained in youth wings became chief ministers or ministers elsewhere. “Denying the senior leader an opportunity this time would be an injustice to him.” They add their side stayed quiet—no posters or protests like the others.
BJP Mocks Impasse
Meanwhile, the BJP has mocked the impasse, noting Congress despite having 63 MLAs and three independents (66 altogether) hesitates on the CM announcement.
Former state BJP chief K Surendran vented on Facebook: “Even after having the support of 63 MLAs and three independents — a total of 66 members on their own — whom is the Congress high command afraid of when it comes to announcing the Chief Minister? The answer is very simple — Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim League. Anyone with basic common sense can understand that they are the ones creating all this uproar.”
