Ten days after the Kerala Assembly election results were announced, the southern state may finally know the name of its chief minister.
The Congress, which won 63 of the United Democratic Front’s 102 seats, is set to announce the name of the chief minister during the party’s legislative meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, a party official said.
“As authorized by CLP members in Kerala, the Congress high command has completed all discussions and the decision on the next Kerala Chief Minister will be announced tomorrow,” Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said after a meeting between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, one of the top three candidates for chief minister’s post.
The other two contenders are outgoing Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Sathisan and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala. The meeting came amid reports from Kerala that a large number of Congress activists had gathered at Satinsan’s house in Aluva and the party’s district offices.
In the last 10 days, Congress observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken have consulted MLAs and MLAs, Gandhi spoke to Sathisean, and on Tuesday, Gandhi met senior Congress leaders from Kerala, including former state unit chiefs, to end the impasse.
Since the poll results were announced on May 4, there has been hectic lobbying underway by the camps of the three top contenders for the chief minister’s post – Sathisan, Chennithala and Venugopal.
While many Congress MLAs supported Venugopal, Satheesan refused to budge and remained a strong contender.
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the UDF’s main ally, said on Wednesday that they were waiting for the Congress’s decision.
“We are awaiting a decision from the Congress high command in Delhi in this regard,” senior party leader P K Kunhalikutty told reporters. “We hope that a decision will be made as soon as possible.”
