Two observers from the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken, on Friday submitted a report to party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, outlining the preferences of 63 newly-elected Congress members for the post of Kerala chief minister.
Outgoing leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan, former minister Ramesh Chennithala and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal are among the leading candidates for the chief minister’s post with each camp claiming majority support of the legislators.
The two observers, who held one-on-one discussions with MLAs in Kerala on Thursday, presented their findings to Karji at the latter’s residence in Delhi on Friday. The Kerala Congress Legislative Party had earlier issued a resolution authorizing the high command to take the final decision on the post of chief minister.
“We have submitted our report to the leadership. Nothing could have happened in a faster manner. We made full use of our time. When we held meetings with individual MLAs, we noted their preferences (for the post of Prime Minister) as well as several things they wanted to say,” Maken told reporters in Delhi.
Meanwhile, Sathisan, Chennithala and state Congress president Sunny Joseph left for Delhi on Friday evening to hold consultations with the AICC leadership. Venugopal is already in the national capital. According to people familiar with the matter, the Anti-Corruption Commission is working on a compromise formula that will ultimately satisfy the three leaders and prevent internal rebellion.
Meanwhile, Congress workers held demonstrations for Sathisan on Friday in at least five districts, including Kannur, Malappuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode, demanding the party leadership to offer him the top post. The workers raised Sathisan banners and installed phrases supporting his candidacy for prime minister, citing his experience as opposition leader over the past five years. The workers also raised slogans against Venugopal, alleging that he had “bought” the support of several MLAs to push him to the top post.
The demonstrations prompted Kuwait Petroleum Company Chairman Joseph to issue a warning to take action against the workers. In Thodupuzha in Idukki district, a few workers who participated in the agitation were removed from their organizational positions.
Through a Facebook post, Sathisan asked the workers and leaders not to indulge in any work that would put the party in a difficult situation.
“The United Democratic Front led by the Congress Party came to power with 102 seats. This is a moment of happiness and pride. The workers should stop installing floppy hoardings and protest on the streets through factions,” he said.
Controversy over the image of opportunity
Meanwhile, a photo, taken by a newspaper photographer, showing a document in Mukul Wasnik’s hand revealing the Prime Minister’s preferences for a few law department aides, has sparked a controversy.
The paper appears to show MLAs including KPCC president Sunny Joseph, T Siddique and Sandeep Warier preferring KC Venugopal as their choice for CM candidate. According to the document, while Sultan Pathiri-elect MLA IC Balakrishnan chose either Venugopal or Chennithala, Uduma MLA Neelakantan did not share any preferences.
When asked about the photo, Wasnik said the alleged document was “not based on facts.”
“I am aware of the picture. It is not true. It does not reflect the correct position. It is not based on facts,” he said.
But Neelakantan said he had sent an email to the AICC seeking clarification on the alleged document. “I clearly made my preference clear to the observers. They even wrote it down. So I don’t know why a leader was not mentioned next to my name,” he told reporters. It is learned that Neelakandan supported Satheesan for the CM.
