The Congress top brass has directed party workers in Kerala to "avoid agitations", as the party is yet to take a call on the next chief minister of the state, said senior leader K Muraleedharan on Sunday, while adding that whichever decision is taken, it will be accepted by everyone.
"Agitations should be avoided. The clear-cut direction has been given by Congress leadership. The announcement can be expected at any time, and it will be decided by the Congress President as early as possible," Muraleedharan told news agency ANI.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) stormed to power in Kerala, winning 102 seats. The grand old party alone won 63 assembly constituencies. Despite a clear majority, the Congress has not been able to decide on the chief minister. The confusion is mainly among three leaders: VD Satheesan, KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala.
Now, the supporters of the three leaders have waged a poster war and are engaging in arguments on social media, which has only caused a chaos in the Congress. According to sources, Venugopal and Chennithala remain the frontrunners for the top post, but Satheesan's supporters demand that their leader should be made the chief minister.
They argue that Satheesan is the deserving candidate, as he has brought a generational shift in the Kerala Congress. However, many believe that Chennithala, a former president of Kerala Congress and ex-state home minister, should be made the chief ministers.
Calls to make Venugopal, a Lok Sabha MP from Alappuzha, the chief minister are also being made. Venugopal is the national general secretary of Congress and is known for his closeness to Rahul Gandhi. Like Chennithala, he belongs to the Nair community, which is one of the most influential communities in the state.
The Congress leadership is now mulling whether it should select a central leader like Venugopal or someone who has more experience at the state level like Chennithala and Satheesan, but Muraleedharan is confident that the party would be able to deal with this situation effectively.
"There is a generational change happening in Congress and disputes can happen. During the era of K Karunakaran, Oommen Chandy and A K Antony, there were no disputes because of their leadership. Now, new leaders have emerged, and there will be differences of opinion. But the Congress has mechanisms to resolve them," he said.
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