THE suspense and speculation over who would be the next Chief Minister of Keralam continued on Monday with the delay in the decision by the Congress irking key UDF constituent IUML, which warned that prolonged uncertainty on the matter could have political repercussions. To break the deadlock, sources said, the top leadership has now decided to hold discussions with former Keralam Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) presidents before finalising the chief ministerial candidate. Those who have been called by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to Delhi for the discussions, likely on Tuesday, include M M Hassan, V M Sudheeran, Mullapally Ramachandran and K Muraleedharan, besides veteran leader and Kannur Lok Sabha MP K Sudhakaran, sources said. Discussions would also be held with former Defence Minister and party veteran A K Antony, who served as the KPCC president between 1996 and 2001. Kharge and Rahul Gandhi will take the final call on the new Keralam Chief Minister, which is likely to be finalised in a day or two, the sources said. This is not the first time the Congress has kept the decision on picking a chief minister hanging. Intense lobbying was witnessed when the Congress won the Karnataka polls in 2023, with the two top contenders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar lobbying hard for the top post. A compromise was reached later, and Siddaramaiah was named the Chief Minister with Shivakumar as his deputy. Such lobbying and delay were also witnessed in 2018, when the Congress won Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

 

While Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia were chief minister aspirants in Madhya Pradesh, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot were the front-runners in Rajasthan. Eventually, a compromise was reached after days of uncertainty, and while Kamal Nath was chosen in Madhya Pradesh, Gehlot got the top job in Rajasthan with Pilot as his deputy. In Chhattisgarh, too, the party leadership grappled with competing claims before Bhupesh Baghel was finally chosen to lead the State. On Monday, uncertainty continued within the Congress over the selection of Keralamm’s next chief minister, two days after Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held discussions with the three contenders for the top post Ramesh Chennithala, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Keralam Assembly, V D Satheesan. Keralamm Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sunny Joseph and AICC General Secretary in charge of the southern state, Deepa Dasmunsi, also attended the meeting. Party leaders in Thiruvananthapuram indicated that a decision is expected after Kharge meets senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on the leadership issue. They also indicated that the high command is waiting for the political atmosphere in Keralamm, which witnessed demonstrations and poster wars between the supporters of Satheesan and Venugopal last week, to calm down before making an announcement. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key constituent of the Congress-led UDF in Keralam, has expressed strong displeasure over the delay in picking the Chief Minister, warning that prolonged uncertainty could have political repercussions. IUML’s Malappuram district general secretary P Abdul Hameed said the delay had already caused dissatisfaction among the party workers and the public.