The Congress’s decisive victory in the Kerala assembly elections has triggered a three-way scramble for chief minister as the party’s central leadership weighs competing claims, with May 23 looming as the deadline for government formation. The United Democratic Front won 102 of 140 seats, of which Congress took 63; that arithmetic has left the choice of chief minister both politically urgent and contested, with party boss Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi yet to announce a final decision as of Sunday night, May 10, 2026.
At the centre of the uncertainty is KC Venugopal, 63, the All India Congress Committee’s general secretary (organisation) since 2019 and a longtime conduit between the party high command in Delhi and state units. Venugopal is widely regarded as a trusted lieutenant of the Rahul Gandhi–Kharge leadership and is known for handling candidate selection, discipline and alliance management; he even sits immediately to Rahul Gandhi’s left in the Lok Sabha.
Venugopal also has deep Kerala roots: a three-time MLA from Alappuzha (1996–2009), former state tourism minister under Oommen Chandy, two-time Alappuzha MP (2009, 2014) and a former junior Union minister with portfolios including power and civil aviation under UPA-2. During the 2026 campaign, PTI reported that Venugopal helped draw disaffected CPI(M) leaders from the then-ruling LDF into the UDF fold.
Reports from party circles and PTI say a majority of Congress legislators back Venugopal — some outlets have cited unnamed sources suggesting support from as many as 50 of the 63 Congress MLAs — after AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken held one-on-one meetings with all lawmakers and submitted their findings to Kharge. A photograph published by a newspaper appeared to show a document in Wasnik’s hands listing several MLAs as preferring Venugopal; Wasnik has denied the document’s accuracy.
But internal arithmetic competes with public sentiment and alliance calculations. PTI cited sources saying public preference may tilt towards V.D. Satheesan, a six-time MLA from Paravur and the UDF’s outgoing Leader of Opposition. Satheesan won his seat by more than 20,600 votes, mobilised visible demonstrations of support across several districts and received student activists in Delhi on his return. He appealed on Facebook for restraint, urging workers to “desist from installing flex boards and protesting on the streets through factions.”
Satheesan also has the backing of the Indian Union Muslim League, which holds 22 seats in the UDF; the coalition also includes the Kerala Congress (8 seats) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (3). Congress’s 63 seats fall short of a party-alone majority, making coalition consensus important despite the UDF’s comfortable two-thirds-plus majority in the assembly.
Ramesh Chennithala, 69, is the third prominent claimant — a six-time MLA and former state Congress president, home minister and Leader of Opposition with a long record in Kerala politics, including leading the UDF’s 2019 Lok Sabha sweep (19 of 20 seats). But his 2021 assembly defeat remains a political liability.
Kharge convened a more-than-three-hour meeting at his Delhi residence on Saturday attended by Rahul Gandhi, state in-charge Deepa Dasmunsi and all three contenders. “Everyone expressed their views and Rahulji heard them patiently,” Chennithala told PTI afterward. Congress leaders have stressed that the final call will rest with the high command and that workers are expected to accept its decision.
Venugopal did not contest the recent assembly polls; should he be chosen, protocol requires him to win a bypoll within six months of taking office. Former Union minister Shashi Tharoor, briefly mentioned in Delhi media as a dark horse, dismissed speculation, saying: “Ideally, the CM should be picked from elected MLAs,” a formulation that effectively ruled him out while underscoring the unusual nature of the current contest.
Original Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/time-for-venugopal-to-head-home-rahuls-main-man-in-kerala-congress-cm-race-vs-local-satrap-satheesan-chennithala-101778427869591.html
Category:
Tags:
Publish Date: 2026-05-11 00:48:00
