Congress MLAs Ask Party Leadership To Finalise Kerala Chief Ministerial Candidate
Congress MLAs pass resolution leaving Kerala CM face decision to leadership.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in Kerala on Thursday passed a formal resolution authorising the party’s central leadership to decide the party’s chief ministerial nominee, amid growing internal discussions and lobbying over the state’s top political post.
The resolution was adopted unanimously during a meeting of the newly elected 63-member Congress legislature party held in Thiruvananthapuram. Chalakudy MLA Saneesh Kumar Joseph told reporters after the meeting that the legislators had collectively entrusted the final decision on the chief minister’s post to the party high command.
The proposal was formally moved by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph and received support from senior party leaders, including outgoing Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan and veteran Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala. The move is being seen as an attempt to maintain unity within the party while allowing the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leadership to make the final choice.
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Several senior leaders are considered contenders for the chief minister’s position. Among those being discussed are VD Satheesan, former minister and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, and AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, who currently serves as a Lok Sabha MP from Alappuzha.
As part of the selection process, senior Congress observers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik, deputed by the AICC leadership, held individual consultations with the party’s newly elected legislators at Indira Bhawan, the Congress headquarters in Kerala. The discussions were aimed at gauging the preferences and opinions of MLAs before the high command takes a final decision.
The Congress’s decision to centralise the selection process reflects the party’s broader strategy of avoiding public factionalism during leadership transitions. The announcement of the chief ministerial nominee is expected after consultations between the Kerala unit and the national leadership are completed.
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