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Amidst a prolonged delay in announcing the name of the chief ministerial candidate in Keralam, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took a jibe at the Congress party, which he said seemed to have a plan "to give five Chief Ministers to the State in five years"
A week after the Congress-led UDF's sweeping victory in the 2026 Kerala Assembly election, Poonawalla speaking to ANI highlighted that Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra seems to be pushing forward the name of VD Satheesan, the MLA from Paravur Assembly constituency, while Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is naming KC Venugopal, currently a Lok Sabha MP from Alappuzha. "In Keralam, the Congress has got a full majority. Even after so many days, the Congress party has not been able to decide who will be the Chief Minister. It is being said that under pressure from the Jamaat, Priyanka Vadra is pushing forward the name of VD Satheesan, while Rahul Gandhi is pushing forward the name of KC Venugopal. Some people are bringing forward Ramesh Chennithala. Some people want to make Shashi Tharoor the Chief Minister. It seems the Congress party has made a plan to give five Chief Ministers in five years," he said. In another dig at Congress, Poonawalla said that the party will usher in a "model of instability" in Keralam, like it did in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and previously in Punjab and Rajasthan. "The way they brought instability to Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh. Just as they did previously in Punjab and Rajasthan, they now want to bring that same model to Kerala," the BJP leader said. Meanwhile, the top leadership of the Congress in Keralam is likely to meet Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi today to finalise Keralam Chief Minister after days of intense discussions following the UDF's sweeping victory in the May 4 assembly elections. 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 last evening in the national capital, New Delhi, for high-level discussions with the party leadership, remained tight-lipped regarding the ongoing deliberations. This comes after the landslide victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) led by Congress in Keralam. UDF 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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