The Congress-led United Democratic Front’s landslide in the Kerala assembly — 102 seats in a 140-member House — has ended a decade of Left Democratic Front rule, but victory has been overshadowed by a public and bitter contest over who will be the next chief minister. Three senior Congress leaders — VD Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala and KC Venugopal — were in Delhi as of Saturday as the party high command held consultations, and senior sources said a final decision was expected within 24 hours.
Formally, the choice rests with the All India Congress Committee (AICC). At a state Congress Legislative Party meeting in Thiruvananthapuram earlier this week, newly elected MLAs authorised the high command to pick the leader, AICC observer Mukul Wasnik confirmed. Observers have submitted their report to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, and a meeting of senior Kerala leaders was held at Kharge’s residence on Saturday afternoon.
The leadership contest has spilled into Kerala’s streets. Supporters of Satheesan marched from the Palayam Martyrs’ Memorial in Thiruvananthapuram, Venugopal posters appeared along Trivandrum Road, and Chennithala backers put up hoardings in Idukki. Tensions peaked when a flex board bearing images of the late Oommen Chandy and KC Venugopal was torn down and doused in black oil — an act that drew sharp rebukes from senior party figures. Congress MP Rajmohan Unnithan said those who destroyed the flexboard “cannot be seen as part of Congress.” PJ Kurien warned, “A chief minister cannot be decided through pressure tactics,” and MLA T Siddique called the public attacks a source of “deep pain and disappointment,” saying veterans “should not be humiliated in public.”
Among the contenders, VD Satheesan, 61, is widely described as the frontrunner. A five-time MLA from Peravur and the party’s Leader of the Opposition, he has been the visible face of the anti-LDF campaign and enjoys backing from UDF ally IUML. Ramesh Chennithala, 69, who won from Haripad, has deep organisational roots both in Kerala and nationally and held talks with Sonia Gandhi during consultations, though rivals note the party’s 2021 defeat occurred under his leadership. KC Venugopal, 63, Congress national general secretary (organisation), carries weight with Kharge and Rahul Gandhi but did not contest the assembly; he could legally enter the legislature within six months if appointed chief minister, but his elevation would create a vacuum at the national level.
A fourth name, Shashi Tharoor, has circulated in Delhi as a dark horse; he met Kharge to “share impressions of the situation in Kerala” but has not publicly backed any candidate and is largely viewed as a figure of central rather than state politics. Senior leader K Muraleedharan cautioned that “seniority is not the sole criterion” and that coalition partners’ views will matter, adding his expectation that the party will unite behind whoever is chosen.
Original Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/whom-will-cong-choose-as-next-kerala-cm-poster-war-among-3-contenders-a-tharoor-kharge-meet-delhi-decision-awaited-101778325304568.html
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Publish Date: 2026-05-10 05:24:00
