Cong’s Venugopal, Satheesan lead Kerala CM race

AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and senior Congress leader VD Satheesan have emerged as the main contenders for the post of Chief Minister in Kerala, with party sources indicating that a majority of newly elected Congress MLAs are backing Venugopal while public opinion appears to favour Satheesan, the outgoing Leader of Opposition.

The Congress leadership will take the final call on the next leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) after the newly elected Congress MLAs unanimously authorised the party high command to choose the leader, AICC observer Ajay Maken said on Friday.

The move comes days after the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) secured a decisive victory in the Kerala Assembly elections, crossing the majority mark in the 140-member House and ending the Left Democratic Front’s decade-long rule in the state.

According to sources, party observers Maken and Mukul Wasnik briefed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on the feedback received from newly-elected legislators after holding one-on-one meetings with them. They also interacted with party MPs and several former MPs as part of the consultation process.

Apart from Venugopal and Satheesan, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala is also being considered for the top post. Sources said Kharge has summoned all three leaders for discussions before arriving at a final decision.

Addressing mediapersons after submitting the observers’ report to Kharge, Maken said the Congress central leadership had deputed him and Wasnik to Kerala immediately after the election results were declared.

He said the CLP meeting held on May 7 adopted a unanimous one-line resolution authorising the Congress leadership to select the CLP leader, adding that a copy of the resolution had been handed over to the party high command along with the observers’ report.

Maken further said the observers also held individual meetings with MLAs and documented their feedback in detail for the leadership’s consideration. According to him, the discussions went beyond merely suggesting names, with several legislators sharing broader views and concerns which were included in the report submitted to the party president.

However, sources said Venugopal was actively seeking the CM’s position and had been leveraging his equation with the party high command in the selection process. His close association with Rahul Gandhi is also being viewed as a factor that could strengthen his prospects.

Meanwhile, Wasnik dismissed speculation triggered by a viral photograph purportedly showing a list of MLAs and possible contenders for the CM’s post. Rejecting the claims, Wasnik said the circulated document did not reflect the actual position and was factually incorrect.