Last- minute talks on finalising the Kerala chief minister have shifted to New Delhi from the state capital, with two AICC observers submitting their report to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday.
The AICC leadership has summoned the three contenders — AICC general secretary (organisation) and incumbent Alappuzha MP K.C. Venugopal, leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Assembly V.D. Satheesan and Congress Working Committee leader Ramesh Chennithala — for talks. The announcement is likely to be made either on Saturday or Sunday.
Venugopal, the frontrunner for the top post, has already been camping in New Delhi.
The AICC leadership is peeved with the Kerala top brass after loyalists of the three CM aspirants held protests across the state. It prompted Satheesan to take to his Facebook account and request Congress and UDF workers to refrain from organising demonstrations and installing flex boards in his support.
Satheesan said the Congress-led UDF had secured the biggest victory in the history of the alliance in Kerala by winning 102 seats in the Assembly elections.
“The first phase of the process to elect the Congress Legislature Party leader has been completed, and the AICC is now moving to the second phase,” he said.
Satheesan said the current moment was one of happiness and pride for the party and
the Front.
“At such a time, nothing should happen from leaders or workers that could create difficulties for the party or the Front,” he said.
The report submitted by AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken contains feedback from the Congress’s 63 MLAs in Kerala on who should be the next chief minister. It has now fallen on the Congress leadership to take its pick and convince the also-rans on why they did not make the cut. Both Satheesan and Chennithala have made it clear that they would not join the Venugopal cabinet.
Venugopal has the endorsement of 45 MLAs, while Satheesan and Chennithala have the support of less than 10 legislators.
A leader close to Venugopal told The Telegraph that he had been preparing for the hot seat for the last five years.
“Venugopal had his strategy marked out as early as the 2021 Assembly elections. He ensured the victory of all the Congress candidates in the fray by providing maximum funds towards their campaigning,” the Venugopal loyalist said.
The Satheesan and Chennithala camps are flagging the prospect of a by-election in Alappuzha if Venugopal — a sitting Lok Sabha member — is appointed chief minister. It will also mean that Venugopal will have to contest a by-election from one of the Assembly seats in Kerala and get elected as an MLA within six months of taking office.