Congress leaders vie for top post in Kerala

Congress High Command is expected to decide Kerala’s Chief Minister by Friday as the race between AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala has intensified. AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken are meeting elected MLAs to get their opinion.

The process is complex, as factors such as religion and caste often play a crucial role in the formation of a Congress Government in Kerala, and the race for the CM is among three members of the Nair community — Chennithala, Venugopal and Satheesan. Interestingly, all three are disciples of the late Congress stalwart and former CM Karunakaran.

While Chennithala and Satheesan were elected from their strongholds of Haripad and Paravoor, respectively, with thumping margins, Venugopal, the AICC general secretary (organisation), did not contest the election. As speculation intensifies, the leaders have begun to display their strength and loyalty to the party high command. Their supporters have stepped up campaigns for their respective leaders through extensive social media drives and by organising large receptions, such as those held for Satheesan in Ernakulam and Venugopal in New Delhi.

Soon after the results of the Assembly elections were announced on Monday, Chennithala, a staunch loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family, said that Rahul Gandhi was behind the UDF’s historic victory, crediting him with the five guarantees that had a major impact on the election. “The strongest leadership behind this victory came from Rahul Gandhi. He convened all our leaders in Delhi, discussed the need to win, and guided us to function as a united team — the UDF working cohesively. This leadership was provided by Rahul Gandhi along with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.

“Priyanka Gandhi’s active presence and Sonia Gandhi’s blessings were also with us. The five guarantees announced by Rahul Gandhi had a major impact on the election. We will implement all five guarantees within a fixed timeframe,” Chennithala said. He was the chairman of the UDF’s campaign committee for the election.

At the same time, supporters of Satheesan strongly argue that he deserves the chief minister’s post, saying the Paravoor MLA led the UDF from the front as Leader of the Opposition to victory after it failed to prevent the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF from retaining power in the 2021 elections. Although Satheesan is said not to have the necessary support of the elected MLAs in the race, his camp claims that their leader has strong backing from UDF partners, including the Indian Union Muslim League, the largest partner of the Congress-led alliance.

Venugopal’s camp, however, claims that the popular support alone cannot be considered as a factor for electing the Chief Minister and the support of the party MLAs is crucial. They argue that the support of the elected party MLAs is crucial. The party alone has 63 MLAs in the 140-member state Assembly.

“The High Command will certainly take the views of the MLAs into consideration,” said a party MLA involved in mobilising more support for Venugopal.

He claimed that a majority of the party’s MLAs support Venugopal for the post, although he did not contest the polls. However, his chances of securing the post will depend on the stance of Rahul Gandhi. The AICC general secretary (organisation) is a staunch loyalist of Rahul. According to Venugopal’s team, the Alappuzha MP played a central role in the UDF’s victory by spearheading the “Indira Guarantee” campaign, leading extensive statewide outreach and overseeing a carefully managed candidate selection process based on surveys and feedback.

As lobbying intensifies among the camps of the three leaders in Kerala as well as in Delhi, posters have appeared in various parts of the State, put up by supporters backing their respective leaders for the Chief Minister’s post.