Suspense Over Kerala CM Continues Amid Satheesan-Venugopal-Chennithala Power Struggle

Last Updated:May 11, 2026, 10:13 IST

The Congress high command has delayed announcing Kerala's next chief minister amid growing factionalism and competing claims from supporters.

The suspense over who will become Kerala’s next chief minister continues, with the Congress high command yet to announce its decision despite multiple rounds of consultations in Delhi and mounting pressure from party workers and alliance leaders.

The delay has sparked intense political debate within the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), with supporters of senior leaders VD Satheesan, KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala openly backing their preferred candidates through protests, posters and demonstrations in Kerala and Delhi.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi are understood to be leading the deliberations on the issue.

According to party sources cited in multiple reports, the leadership has chosen not to rush the announcement amid concerns over growing factionalism and public displays of internal rivalry.

HIGH COMMAND STEPS IN AFTER OPEN FACTIONALISM

The issue reportedly escalated after rival camps of the three contenders staged demonstrations and erected flex boards across Kerala, prompting the Congress leadership to intervene directly.

According to an IANS report, Rahul Gandhi sharply reprimanded the senior Kerala leaders during a crucial meeting at Kharge’s residence in Delhi.

Sources quoted in the report said Rahul Gandhi expressed concern over the succession battle spilling into the public domain and reportedly asked the leaders whether they were capable of controlling their supporters and ending the public posturing that had embarrassed the party after its sweeping electoral victory.

Kharge too is said to have adopted a firm stand, making it clear that no announcement would be made until discipline and normalcy were restored within the organisation.

The intervention appeared to have an immediate effect, with Satheesan, Venugopal and Chennithala emerging together after the meeting to publicly appeal for unity and restraint among workers.

LEADERS APPEAL FOR UNITY

Addressing reporters after the meeting, VD Satheesan acknowledged that protests and campaigns over the chief ministerial race had created an impression of divisions within the party.

“All of us are requesting together that please do not carry out such demonstrations and campaigns for anyone of us. It will hurt the Congress workers, the UDF activists and the large number of people who have voted for us," he said.

KC Venugopal also urged party workers to end the public demonstrations.

“People have given a huge victory to the party, and they want a UDF government that would work for them. There have been some unfortunate incidents. These should be ended," he said.

Ramesh Chennithala, meanwhile, said all leaders would accept the final decision of the Congress leadership.

“Everyone expressed their views, and Rahulji heard them patiently. The final decision on the chief minister will be taken by the Congress high command, and whatever decision is made will be accepted by all," Chennithala said after the meeting.

Congress leader K Muraleedharan also downplayed concerns that the leadership issue had overshadowed the UDF’s electoral victory and said party workers were bound to accept the high command’s decision.

WHY THE ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN DELAYED

The reports indicate that the Congress leadership is deliberately taking time to ensure consensus and prevent further embarrassment after the party’s emphatic win in Kerala.

Deepa Dasmunshi, AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala, repeatedly stressed that the decision would be announced “in due course" and that the party still had time till May 23 to finalise the leadership question.

“Very soon, in due time, we will get our final decision from our high command," Dasmunshi told reporters.

She also confirmed that all Congress MLAs had signed a one-line resolution authorising the high command to take the final call.

According to sources cited in PTI, a majority of Congress MLAs are believed to favour KC Venugopal for the top post, while VD Satheesan is seen as the preferred choice among sections of the public and party workers.

The opinion of alliance partners is also expected to matter significantly.

The Congress has 63 MLAs in the 140-member Kerala Assembly, while alliance partners, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Kerala Congress and Revolutionary Socialist Party, together helped the UDF secure 102 seats, more than a two-thirds majority.

BJP-CONGRESS WAR OF WORDS OVER DELAY

The delay also triggered a political exchange between the Congress and the BJP after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at the Congress over its inability to finalise a chief minister despite winning a massive mandate.

Responding to the criticism, Chennithala accused the Prime Minister of forgetting the BJP’s own delay in appointing a chief minister in Delhi.

“PM Modi should remember that it took him 50 days to announce the Chief Minister in Delhi. Only now have I realised that the Prime Minister seems to have memory loss," Chennithala told reporters.

“The Indian National Congress is a democratic party, not an authoritarian one. That is why the high command said it would hold discussions with all of us and take a democratic decision," he added.

Meanwhile, despite repeated assurances from the Congress leadership, uncertainty continues to prevail over the chief ministerial choice in Kerala.

While leaders have publicly projected unity after the intervention from Delhi, reports suggest that lobbying continues behind the scenes even as the high command weighs its final decision.

For now, Kerala continues to await clarity on who will ultimately lead the Congress-led government after the UDF’s decisive electoral victory.

News india Suspense Over Kerala CM Continues Amid Satheesan-Venugopal-Chennithala Power Struggle

Read More