In Kerala, selecting the next Chief Minister is becoming a challenge for the Congress and the broader UDF alliance, despite winning a comfortable majority in the recent assembly elections. UDF won 102 seats in the 140-seat assembly.
As per reports, most among the 63 Congress MLAs support AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, while most grassroots workers support VD Satheesan, who was the Leader of the Opposition in the last assembly.
#KeralaCM | Satheesan vs Venugopal Battle For CM's Seat Heats Up, Who Will Congress Pick? @Neethureghu decodes #kcvenugopal #vdsatheesan #keralacm #kerala #keralanews pic.twitter.com/SxpajFs5nm
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Protests and demonstrations have started among Congress workers in Kerala, where the party cadre are taking to streets, with placards of ‘ONLY VD’, and “Let the leader who led govern the state”, demanding that Satheesan must become the CM as he led the party on the ground and motivated workers in the last 5 years to make the Congress victory possible.
KC Venugopal, as per them, has not been much involved in the state politics and did not lead the party to victory. Congress workers have held protests in districts like Thrissur, Malappuram, Kannur, and Idukki, stating that KC Venugopal is being ‘parachuted’ into the state to become the CM when he is not even an MLA.
VD Satheesan, who led the UDF campaign and helped consolidate votes, has urged restraint and stated that party workers should leave the decision to the high command. Veteran leader Ramesh Chennithala’s name is also being considered for the CM post
UDF ally All India Muslim League has also supported VD Satheesan’s name as CM, asserting that public sentiment and party workers’ opinion must be respected. The Congress Legislative Party has authorised party president Mallikarjun Kharge to take the final call, with observers submitting reports to Delhi. But it is well known that Congress chooses only Gandhi family loyalists as CMs or senior office-bearers.
