Congress CLP meet tomorrow as party eyes new Kerala CM by Sunday

Bengaluru: The newly elected Congress MLAs in Kerala will meet in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday morning as the party sets into motion the process of selecting the new chief minister.

AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik and treasurer Ajay Maken reached the state capital on Wednesday and will attend the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting. They two senior leaders are expected to meet MLAs individually and gather their opinion rather than rely on a headcount, sources said.

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The party is keen to complete the process by Sunday and has asked senior leaders, including Pradesh Congress president Sunny Joseph, senior leaders VD Satheesan and Ramesh Chennithala, and MPs to be in New Delhi on Friday, the sources added.

After meeting MLAs, the two AICC leaders will convey their assessment to the party leadership.

Satheesan, Chennithala and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal are among the frontrunners for the post. Venugopal, a close confidant of Rahul Gandhi, has long harboured ambitions to become chief minister.