The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received sharp criticism in the Congress after it appointed VD Satheesan as chief minister after a 10-day suspension, calling the party a “new Muslim League”.
The BJP accused the Congress of bowing to pressure from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in selecting VD Sathisan as the next chief minister of Kerala, while also claiming that “infighting” within the party would make the new government “controlled from a distance”.
The Congress earlier today announced V D Sathisan as the next Chief Minister of Kerala, ending days of suspense and speculation over the leadership choice.
The decision was announced at a press conference in Delhi by Kerala AICC in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi and the party’s central observers in the state, Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik.
The three main contenders for the post are Sathisan, KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala.
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BJP accused of leading Congress in Kerala
In a post on X, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that the decision has been imposed on the Kerala unit by the Congress central leadership.
“It is clear that the chief ministerial face of Kerala has been decided in New Delhi and not in Kerala. The announcement has been made from the AICC headquarters in Delhi, which makes it clear that this will be a remote-controlled Sarkar government,” he said.
The BJP leader also claimed that there is a dispute within the Gandhi family over the choice of leadership in Kerala.
He claimed that Sathisean was chosen due to “pressure from Priyanka Gandhi” who “did not want Rahul Gandhi’s nominee KC Venugopal at any cost”.
“Priyanka Vadra died before Rahul Gandhi’s choice, KC Venugopal. In fact, there was a major family tussle over who would take the decisions in Kerala,” he claimed.
Poonawalla also blamed internal disputes and pressure from alliance partners for the Congress’ delay in announcing Kerala’s new chief minister.
“After 11 days, the Congress party from Delhi finally announced the name of VD Sathisan ji as the next chief minister of Kerala. This was done under two pressures. The JI and the UIM have read the riot act to the Congress. So, this is the clear influence of the Muslim vote bank,” he added.
Compared to the Congress government in Karnataka, the BJP spokesperson claimed that factional rivalry will continue to trouble the party in Kerala as well.
“It will be the same model as the Karnataka Congress Sarkar. There was DK Shivakumar versus Siddaramaiah. Here it will be Satheesan versus KC Venugopal versus Chennithala versus Shashi Tharoor. There will be four to five claimants, who will constantly rock the boat,” he said.
He said similar internal conflicts affected Congress governments in states like Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.
“So, once again, the people of Kerala will brace for instability,” he said.
Read also | VD Satheesan is set to become the new CM of Kerala as Congress announces his name after days of suspense
Kerala waits for 10 days for the Prime Minister
The decision on Kerala’s next chief minister has been pending since May 4, when the Congress-led United Democratic Front won 102 seats in the 140-member Assembly, securing a majority of more than two-thirds.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also claimed that the Congress’s decision-making requires the approval of the International Muslim Federation and its allied religious groups.
“It is clear that the choice of the new Congress chief minister from Kerala was not chosen by Congress MLAs but by the IUML,” he said in a post on X.
Describing the Congress as the “new Muslim League”, Bhandari alleged that the Gandhi Vadra family had once again acted in accordance with the wishes of the World Muslim League.
“Remote control of the Congress and the Gandhi Vadra family exists in the World Federation of Muslim League. The Congress today is nothing less than a modern Muslim League. The Congress is the Muslim League-Maoist Congress,” he claimed.
The Congress has 63 MLAs in the 140-member Kerala Assembly. Among its allies, the IUC has 22 seats, the Kerala Congress (KEC) has eight and the RSP has three.
