The Congress high command summoned former chiefs of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and senior party leaders to New Delhi for discussions on Tuesday, as uncertainty persisted over the next chief minister in the southern state a week after the assembly election results were announced.
Former Kerala Congress presidents K Muralidharan and VM Sudhiran confirmed that they will travel to the national capital on the directions of the high command.
“It was a surprise when they (AICC) called me. I have booked a flight to Delhi tomorrow. I assume I will be asked about the current political atmosphere in the state. I will give clear answers to the questions they ask me,” said Sudhiran, who served as the party president in the state from 2014 to 2017.
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The development comes as the Congress high command failed to decide on a chief ministerial candidate a week after the party-led United Democratic Front swept the party in the April 9 Kerala Assembly elections, winning 102 of the state’s 140 seats. On Saturday, senior Congress officers held a meeting in Delhi to discuss government formation in Kerala. The meeting held by party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence was attended by senior leader Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunsi, current KPCC president Sunny Joseph, general secretary (organisation) Venugopal and senior leaders from the state Chennithala and Satyasan.
Since the poll results were announced on May 4, there has been feverish lobbying by the camps of the three top contenders for the chief minister’s post – V D Sathisan, Ramesh Chennithala and K C Venugopal.
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Muraleedharan, who won the recent bypolls from Vattiyurkavu constituency, said a decision on the chief minister’s post is expected to be taken in the next 48 hours.
“When the two ACC observers came to Kerala last week, I conveyed my opinion. I will stick to the same opinion. I don’t know what they (ACC) will ask for. Whatever the high command decides, all leaders are bound to accept it,” Muraleedharan, who served as the party’s state president from 2001 to 2004, told reporters.
He admitted that the “delay” in announcing the prime ministerial candidate aroused dissatisfaction with party workers and leaders in the state.
Chennithala said that all senior leaders, including him, would abide by the final decision of the high command. He said, “The party’s senior leadership will make the appropriate decision and everyone will adhere to it. I am a disciplined party worker and have always stood with the party.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a major component of the United Democratic Front with 22 seats, expressed strong dissatisfaction over the delay in selecting the prime minister.
IUML Malappuram district general secretary P Abdul Hamid said the delay has already caused discontent among party workers and the public. “The decision has already been postponed. If it is extended further, there will be repercussions. We hope the AICC leadership will realize this,” he told reporters.
(with PTI inputs)
