The suspense over Kerala’s next Chief Minister entered its ninth day on Wednesday as the Congress leadership moved into the final round of consultations to decide on the post. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi meet in New Delhi, with the party expected to announce its final decision soon after.

The Congress has been engaged in hectic discussions since May 4, when the UDF secured a sweeping victory in the Assembly elections by winning 102 seats. The Congress emerged as the single largest party with 63 seats, while the LDF, which had won 99 seats in 2021, was reduced to 35 seats.

Former Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala initially emerged as the main contenders for the top post. However, after Chennithala indicated that he would abide by the high command’s decision, the contest was largely seen as narrowing down to Satheesan and Venugopal.

Both camps intensified lobbying efforts in recent days. Supporters of Satheesan argued that he had led the UDF’s campaign against the LDF and enjoyed the support of several alliance partners. Venugopal’s supporters highlighted his national-level experience and strong influence within the party leadership.

The leadership tussle also triggered public displays of support by party workers, including flex boards, marches and sloganeering by rival camps. It then caused concern within the Congress high command, prompting leaders, including Satheesan and Venugopal, to appeal to workers to avoid such activities.

To finalise the leadership issue, AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken held one-on-one discussions with the 63 newly elected Congress MLAs. The observers later said the legislators had left the decision to the party leadership and submitted their report to Kharge.

The Congress Legislature Party also passed a unanimous resolution authorising Kharge to choose the CLP leader, who would become the next Chief Minister. The Congress leadership later held discussions with Kerala leaders, including Satheesan, Chennithala, Venugopal and KPCC president Sunny Joseph, on May 9.

Rahul Gandhi also met senior Kerala leaders in Delhi as part of the consultations. Party leaders had earlier met former Congress president Sonia Gandhi to share their views on the leadership issue.

As part of the extended consultations, senior leaders and former KPCC presidents V M Sudheeran, K Muraleedharan, Mullappally Ramachandran, K Sudhakaran and M M Hassan were invited to Delhi for discussions with the high command. AICC disciplinary committee chairman Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and KPCC working presidents A P Anilkumar, P C Vishnunath and Shafi Parambil also took part in the consultations.