Congress Deliberates on Kerala CM Face as Venugopal Leads Contenders

The Congress high command is finalizing Kerala's next chief minister after the UDF's victory in the state assembly elections, with general secretary K C Venugopal leading among contenders despite not contesting the polls. Top leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, held meetings in Delhi to review a report from central observers, which indicated that 43 of the 63 newly elected Congress MLAs and all Kerala MPs support Venugopal for the post.

Other contenders include V D Satheesan, the outgoing Leader of Opposition, and former LoP Ramesh Chennithala, both senior state leaders with significant influence. While Satheesan has public backing from UDF ally IUML, Chennithala's supporters cite his past deference to Oomen Chandy and expect reciprocity from Satheesan, who is eight years his junior. Factional tensions have surfaced through public displays of support, prompting party leadership to urge restraint among workers.

Venugopal, the Lok Sabha MP from Alappuzha and close aide to Rahul Gandhi, previously served as Kerala unit president and is seen as a central leadership favorite. However, the party upheld a principle during the elections that sitting MPs would not contest assembly seats, raising questions about appointing an MP as CM. The UDF holds 102 seats in the 140-member assembly, with IUML (22), Kerala Congress (8), and RSP (3) as key allies whose positions could influence the decision.

AICC in-charge for Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi stated the high command will announce its decision "very soon," emphasizing that all leaders have committed to accept the outcome. The final call rests with Rahul Gandhi, who must balance state sentiment with central party dynamics. The party is expected to resolve the matter before the new assembly convenes.