Countdown begins for the new Chief Minister of Kerala, High Command intensifies discussion!

The Congress high command finally seems to be moving towards a decision on the next Chief Minister of Kerala, after eight days of suspense, endless speculation and several rounds of closed-door talks. Senior leader K. Muralitharan has hinted that this long wait may end very soon.

An important meeting is going on at the residence of senior party leader Sonia Gandhi, in which Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is also present. The morning session is over, and in the afternoon Rahul Gandhi will meet former state party president VM Sudheeran.

Coming out of discussions with the party leadership in Delhi, K. “The name of the chief minister will be announced within a day. This is the clearest indication yet that the Congress leadership is prepared to break the impasse that had eclipsed the UDF’s landslide election victory,” Muraleedharan (who is also a former party state unit president) told reporters confidently.

Despite the Congress-led UDF coming to power by winning 102 seats in the 140-member assembly, the huge delay in announcing the name of the Chief Minister is now becoming a cause of embarrassment for the party.

Even state Congress president Sunny Joseph has publicly admitted that this uncertainty has cast a shadow over the alliance’s landslide victory.

At the center of this fierce tussle for power are three senior leaders KC Venugopal, VD Satheesan and Ramesh Chennithala. However, as the final round of discussions progress, Venugopal’s position continues to remain strong.

It is being told that he has the support of more than 50 Congress MLAs. But, the high command’s dilemma is not limited to figures alone.

While on one hand it is believed that Venugopal has the full confidence of Rahul Gandhi and the central leadership, on the other hand Satheesan has emerged as more emotionally popular among the party workers and a section of the public. The main reason for this is his aggressive attitude as the leader of the opposition against the P. Vijayan government.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have been actively involved in these discussions.

On the other hand, the alliance partners have also started expressing their uneasiness regarding this delay. Kharge is returning to Delhi today, and according to top sources, Rahul Gandhi will once again talk to allies and senior party leader and former Union Minister AK Antony before announcing the new Chief Minister.