Congress’ stalemate over Kerala CM continues, allies express concerns
Party high command held meeting with four former state unit chiefs and three vice-presidents over the issue
(From left) Congress leaders K C Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala and V D Satheesan are said to be in the race for the Kerala CM's post. The stalemate over the selection of a chief minister in Kerala, now in its second week, has snowballed into a crisis for the Congress in the state as well as the United Democratic Front (UDF), the alliance which it heads.
Though the UDF secured 102 of the 140 seats in the Assembly elections, with the Congress winning 63, the party high command has failed to finalise a chief ministerial candidate despite several rounds of discussions and headcounts among elected MLAs.
The contenders for the CM post are AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, outgoing Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan and former Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala.
On Tuesday, the high command held discussions with three KPCC vice-presidents and four former state unit chiefs. While a majority of the Congress MLAs are seen to be backing Venugopal, the leadership is also concerned about the overwhelming support Satheesan enjoys among the party’s rank and file. “If the support of MLAs was the only criterion (in deciding the CM), the party could have decided in favour of Venugopal last week itself. But party workers, UDF allies and a section of civil society are backing Satheesan. Hence, the leadership could not arrive at a decision,” a senior party leader said.
Last week, Congress workers took to the streets across Kerala demanding that Satheesan be made Chief Minister. Though the protests subsided following intervention by the high command, MLAs continue to face public anger over their stand. Several Congress MLAs were forced to cancel constituency visits after being questioned over the delay in selecting the CM.
Vatakara MP and KPCC vice-president Shafi Parambil, popular among the youth, has come under attack from Congress social media handles for reportedly backing Venugopal. Several netizens accused him of reviving groupism within the party. The prevailing sentiment among party workers is that the emphatic mandate was for the UDF under Satheesan’s leadership and his uncompromising stand on various issues.
Allies concerned
Key UDF allies, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) – which won 22 seats – and the Kerala Congress (Joseph), have already rallied behind Satheesan, who has been the face of the alliance. The IUML is learnt to be unhappy with the prospect of Venugopal, who did not contest the Assembly elections, being considered for the top post. Senior IUML legislator T V Ibrahim on Tuesday voiced the growing discontent within the party over the deadlock. “We cannot go out and meet the people who voted for the UDF. People are asking where the Chief Minister is. The crisis has taken the sheen off the massive victory,” he told reporters.
A section of Congress leaders has questioned the IUML publicly endorsing Satheesan as its preferred Chief Minister. While supporters of Venugopal maintain that the Congress should not allow allies to influence an internal decision, the rival camp argues that the issue concerns the UDF chief ministership and is not merely an internal party matter.
The Congress central leadership can ill afford to ignore the IUML’s views, given the key role the party played in Priyanka Gandhi’s victory from the Wayanad seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha bypoll.
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