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The top leadership of the Congress in Keralam is likely to meet Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday to finalise Keralam Chief Minister after days of intense discussions following the United Democratic Front's sweeping victory in the assembly elections, over a week ago
Keralam Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, and senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala are seen among the top contenders for the Chief Minister post. Former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President K Sudhakaran who is among those who arrived in the national capital New Delhi for high-level discussions with the party leadership, remained tight-lipped regarding the ongoing deliberations. Addressing reporters before his departure from Keralam, the senior leader remained tight-lipped regarding the ongoing Chief Ministerial deliberations. When pressed for details on the potential outcome of the high-stakes meetings, Sudhakaran briefly remarked that he would return "happy and smiling," while declining to offer further comment on the leadership race for the CM position. Alongside Sudhakaran, a delegation of senior Congress leaders is also visiting the national capital for the high-profile AICC meeting aimed at resolving the Keralam Chief Ministerial deadlock. These include former KPCC presidents K Sudhakaran, Mullappally Ramachandran, VM Sudheeran, and K Muraleedharan. KPCC working presidents A P Anilkumar, PC Vishnunath and Shafi Parambil have also been invited for the discussions. Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Congress leader K Muraleedharan, the MLA from Thiruvananthapuram's Vattiyurkkavu, stated that a final decision regarding the state's leadership will be announced within the next 48 hours. "I think within 48 hours, the decision will come. Congress is a democratic party, so they will apply all democratic methods - discuss with MLAs, coalition partners, and tomorrow they will discuss with former PCC Presidents...a new generation is coming up for the CM position, so automatically there will be disputes, discussions, it's natural..." Muraleedharan told reporters. Other senior leaders also offered brief perspectives on the deliberations. While VM Sudheeran mentioned that the central leadership will be briefed on the prevailing political climate in the state, MM Hassan confirmed his presence in Delhi specifically for the crucial AICC session. "...According to General Secretary, AICC, Deepa Das Munshi's message, I'll be going to Delhi...the leadership wanted us to brief them about the situation in Keralam..." Sudheeran told reporters. "Our secretary informed me that we should go to Delhi, so I am going to Delhi," Hassan told reporters. The United Democratic Front (UDF) led by Congress secured 102 seats out of 140 seat Keralam assembly in the recently concluded elections. Despite achieving such a decisive majority, the UDF has yet to name its candidate for Chief Minister in the state, which has drawn criticism from opposition parties. Meanwhile, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) passed a one-line resolution authorising the party high command to take the final decision on the CM candidate after consulting newly elected MLAs and alliance partners. (ANI)
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