Kerala awaits Congress high command’s decision on next chief minister

Kerala continues to await the Congress high command’s decision on the next chief minister as crucial discussions held by the party leadership in New Delhi on Saturday ended without a final announcement, with leaders saying the choice will be made in due course.

The high-level meeting, held at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, began at 4 pm and was attended by senior leaders Rahul Gandhi, V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC president Sunny Joseph.

AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken, who submitted their report to Kharge on Friday, were also part of the discussions. The newly elected MLAs had met the observers at Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. The observers also held discussions with Congress MPs and leaders of allied parties later in the evening.

After the meeting, leaders addressing the media urged Congress workers and supporters to refrain from rallies and tearing down posters. “The people have given us a landslide majority. However, certain unruly incidents occurred over the past week, and such actions are not part of Congress's culture. We request all our workers to refrain from such activities. The high command will announce the final decision very soon,” Deepa Dasmunsi said.

Meanwhile, Congress workers across Kerala on Saturday began removing flex boards and posters put up in support of party leaders V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala after the leaders jointly appealed to supporters to end public campaigns linked to the chief minister’s selection.

Satheesan said such campaigns had created an impression of division within the party and urged UDF workers to end all demonstrations and remove flex boards by Saturday night.

Venugopal said campaigns supporting one leader while tarnishing the image of others should stop, while Chennithala said the flex board war and social media campaigns should end to protect the party’s image. Joseph also appealed to party workers and supporters to cooperate in ending the campaigns.

The move began at the KPCC headquarters, Indira Bhavan, in Thiruvananthapuram, soon after the leaders held discussions with the Congress high command in New Delhi. Congress workers, including Youth Congress and KSU activists, removed flex boards from the office premises and various parts of the state capital.

A rally planned in support of Satheesan at Sultan Bathery was also called off while the meeting in New Delhi was underway.

Flex boards installed by supporters of the three leaders were also removed in Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kannur, Kottayam and Wayanad districts.