AICC buys time to declare Kerala CM

The uncertainty over the next chief minister of Kerala continued on Sunday as the AICC leadership decided to take its own time over the matter. With party workers engaging in a poster-banner campaign, the leadership has realised that any hasty step could trigger public protests.

Hence, the leadership may spend a day or two to talk to different factions and take them into confidence before announcing the name, according to informed sources.

The race has narrowed down to between AICC general secretary KC Venugopal and VD Satheesan. While Venugopal is said to have the backing of a majority of the newly elected MLAs, Satheesan reportedly has the support of the rest of the Congress MLAs, and alliance partners IUML and Kerala Congress.


The party leadership concluded talks in New Delhi on Saturday in the presence of Satheesan, veteran leader Ramesh Chennithala and PCC president Sunny Joseph.

AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken, who met the 63 newly elected MLAs in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, dropped non-verbal hints that Venugopal enjoyed the support of most Congress MLAs. But Satheesan appears to have a big following among the cadre. The allies have also conveyed to the AICC the central role Satheesan played in leading the party to victory.

Venugopal, a Lok Sabha MP from Alappuzha, has been nursing ambitions to be the CM. His rival faction argues that his appointment would lead to a bypoll in Alappuzha which the party can avoid by naming an MLA.

Congress-led United Democratic Front has returned to power in Kerala with a historic 102 seats in the 140-member assembly.