An intense political power struggle has erupted within the Congress in Kerala as the party continues to delay announcing its chief ministerial face, even a week after the Assembly election results were declared, despite the Congress-led alliance securing a comfortable majority in the state.
While every other state that voted during the same election cycle has already sworn in its chief minister, uncertainty continues in Kerala as the Congress high command remains locked in discussions over who should lead the new government.
The leadership race has largely narrowed down to three senior Congress figures — KC Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithal, and VD Satheesan.
Over the past several days, the state has witnessed aggressive poster campaigns, lobbying efforts, ts and public shows of support by workers and supporters of different factions, highlighting growing tensions inside the party despite its decisive electoral victory.
On Saturday, senior Congress leaders gathered in Delhi for crucial discussions at the residence of Mallikarjun Kharge. The meeting reportedly lasted around three hours and was attended by Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal, VD Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala, Kerala Congress chief Sunny Joseph, Congress Kerala in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi, and senior observers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik.
The discussions followed feedback collected from newly elected MLAs in Kerala regarding their preferred candidate for the chief minister’s post.
According to party sources, a majority of Congress MLAs are believed to have backed KC Venugopal, while VD Satheesan is seen by many within the party as having stronger public support and wider popularity among voters.
The delay in announcing a chief minister is reportedly due to disagreements within the leadership over whether the final decision should prioritise legislative backing inside the party or broader public appeal across the state.
Supporters of both Venugopal and Satheesan have intensified their campaigns in both Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram.
Posters projecting Venugopal as the next chief minister appeared outside Kharge’s residence in Delhi, while student groups and supporters welcomed Satheesan upon his arrival in the national capital and publicly endorsed his candidature.
After the meeting, Chennithala attempted to downplay reports of serious internal divisions and said every leader had expressed their views before Rahul Gandhi and the high command would take the final decision.
VD Satheesan also urged party workers to avoid public demonstrations and factional campaigning, warning that such actions could create the impression of deep divisions within the Congress despite the alliance’s strong electoral mandate.
Venugopal echoed similar concerns and described some recent incidents involving protests and banner campaigns as unfortunate, saying people expected the new government to focus on governance rather than internal disputes.
Congress leader Deepa Dasmunshi said all Congress MLAs had signed a one-line resolution authorising the high command to decide the chief ministerial candidate and indicated that a final announcement would come soon.
The prolonged suspense has meanwhile provided ammunition to opposition parties.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar mocked the Congress over the deadlock after social media users joked that the BJP wanted KC Venugopal to remain in Kerala rather than return to Delhi politics.
Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader KK Shailaja also criticised the Congress, describing the leadership tussle as a “musical chair game” that was disrespectful to the people’s mandate.
She questioned whether a government formed after such intense infighting would be able to take stable and effective decisions in the future and warned that continued uncertainty could create administrative instability in the state.
The Congress itself has 63 MLAs in the 140-member Kerala Assembly, while alliance partners,s including the Indian Union Muslim League, KeralaCongresss and Revolutionary Socialist Party, together helped the United Democratic Front secure 102 seats, giving the coalition a more than two-thirds majority.
However, despite the sweeping mandate, Kerala still awaits clarity on who will ultimately lead the new Congress-led government.
