Uncertainty continues to surround the Congress party’s choice for Kerala’s next Chief Minister, even two days after party president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi held discussions in New Delhi with the three main contenders for the post.
Senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, K C Venugopal and V D Satheesan are all considered strong aspirants for the Chief Minister’s position. The party high command met the three leaders on Saturday to discuss the leadership issue.
Sunny Joseph, chief of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, and Deepa Dasmunsi, the AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala, were also present during the meeting. Party sources in Kerala indicated on Monday that a final decision may come only after Kharge consults senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi regarding the matter.
Leaders also suggested that the central leadership was waiting for tensions within the state unit to ease before making an announcement. Kerala witnessed protests and poster campaigns last week by supporters of Satheesan and Venugopal, reflecting growing factional rivalry within the party.
Also read: Free travel for women in KSRTC: Pvt bus operators seek review
Following their meeting with Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the Kerala leaders and Dasmunsi jointly appealed to party workers to avoid demonstrations, protests and flex-board campaigns linked to the leadership contest. Even as behind-the-scenes discussions continue, Congress leaders in Kerala remain uncertain about who will ultimately be chosen to lead the government.
Sources also said alliance partners within the United Democratic Front (UDF) were unhappy with the prolonged delay in naming the Chief Minister despite the coalition securing a resounding mandate by winning 102 of the state’s 140 Assembly seats.
When asked about the delay, a senior Congress leader who requested anonymity remarked, “The Assembly term expires only on May 23, so there is no urgency. Why worry?”
Meanwhile, Chennithala said on Monday that Congress workers and UDF supporters would fully accept whichever decision the party high command takes regarding the Chief Minister’s post.
“We have conveyed everything we wanted to say to the leadership. They have heard all sides. The final decision is now theirs,” Chennithala said after returning from New Delhi.
He described the delay as part of a democratic consultation process within the party. “All discussions have been completed. We are not taking as much time as the Left Front did last time,” he said.
Reiterating his stance, Chennithala said all Congress and UDF workers in Kerala would stand united behind the leadership’s eventual decision.
Responding to criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Chennithala on Sunday argued that the BJP itself had taken several days to decide on its Chief Minister in Delhi after the 2025 Assembly elections.
He also criticised the BJP while the Congress deliberations continued, saying the Congress was not a party that operated on instructions from Nagpur, a reference often used by opposition parties in relation to the RSS headquarters.
Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan also commented on the uncertainty, comparing the leadership selection process to waiting for a train to arrive at a station.
“There is no point in walking before the train reaches the station. You can get down only after it arrives,” he told reporters while responding to questions about the delay in electing the Congress Legislature Party leader.
Muraleedharan said it was impossible to predict exactly when the Congress high command would announce its decision, adding that the outcome would become clear only after an official declaration. “Sometimes a train can get delayed because of bad weather,” he remarked, extending the metaphor to the ongoing discussions within the party.
He also acknowledged that the prolonged indecision had created unease among the public. “There is concern among the people because of the delay. But once the new government is formed and begins functioning, the situation will change,” he added.
Follow us
