Counting for the Kerala Assembly elections will begin at 8 am tomorrow.
With the counting of votes in Kerala – three other states and a union territory – approaching, the main question looming over the Congress Party is who will be the main candidate for prime minister if the party comes to power. Exit polls in Kerala have predicted a win for the Congress-led United Democratic Front, and if that translates into tomorrow’s poll results, the grand old party will have to figure out who its chief ministerial candidate will be. Track updates on the 2026 elections
Congress MP and senior leader Shashi Tharoor was asked a question related to just this. Will he be the President of Kerala? Here’s how Tharoor responded to the question: “I know exactly what you’re trying to make me say. I’m not saying any of that. The answer is very clear.”
How Congress chooses CM candidate
He also provided details on the process of selecting the Prime Minister from the state cadre. “We have a standard practice in the Congress party. After the election results, an envoy or a representative will meet the party president. This person will meet whatever the party members want. He or she will return to Delhi, talk to the high command, and the high command will take that into consideration and take a final decision. After that, they are not bound by any rules or limits. They can choose anything they want. It is up to them to decide,” Tharoor said.
Read also: 5 battlegrounds, 823 seats: everything is ready for the counting of votes for tomorrow’s House of Representatives elections
He expressed confidence in the victory of the UDF and said, “When we won in 2011, the UDF at that time had lost both Kerala and Bengal, but was still in power in Tripura. But this time they will not be in power anywhere in India. It will be a major development in our country.”
Other names are under discussion for the CM post
KC Venuogopal is another senior Congress member whose name is being discussed as a possible face of the CM. Congress leader Tariq Anwar spoke about this on Friday and said if Venugopal is interested, he can become the next Chief Minister of Kerala although it all depends on what the results reveal in Kerala.
The Pakistan News Agency quoted Anwar as saying he was confident in the victory of the United Democratic Front in Kerala, saying, “There is no ambiguity in this matter.”
Read also: “We are fully prepared, there will be no disturbances”: EC official says before vote counting in West Bengal
Although Anwar mentioned Venugopal’s name as a possible prime ministerial candidate, he said the Congress high command would decide who would be the “right person to run the show”.
Kerala Assembly Election Highlights
Elections for 140 Assembly seats in Kerala were held on April 9 in a single phase. It was a two-front contest between the incumbent Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). The polls look promising for the United Democratic Front, when they may not be
While the Axis My India poll predicted the UDF to win 78-90 seats, the Manorama C-Voter poll said the UDF could win as many as 94 seats. The halfway mark in the 140-member assembly reached 71 seats. The two polls gave the Liberal Democracy Party 49-62 seats and 44-56 seats, respectively. Most opinion polls said that the NDA would remain a marginal player and could open its account in the state assembly.
