Venugopal Vs Satheesan: Poster War Erupts In Congress As Kerala CM Race Intensifies

Last Updated:May 08, 2026, 10:51 IST

Supporters of Satheesan and Venugopal put up posters demanding that their leader be made the Chief Minister of the state.

Kerala CM Selection: A poster war broke out within Congress camps supporting senior leaders V D Satheesan and K C Venugopal as the tussle over the Chief Minister’s post in Kerala intensifies.

The Congress-led UDF secured a commanding 102 out of 140 Assembly seats, marking a historic comeback after a decade and reducing the Left Democratic Front to just 35 seats. However, the victory quickly gave way to infighting, as supporters of key politicians intensified their push for the top post.

Supporters of Satheesan and Venugopal put up posters demanding that their leader be made the Chief Minister of the state.

The United Democratic Front (UDF) led by the Congress has staged a decisive comeback in Kerala, returning to power after a decade. But even before the celebrations have settled, the spotlight has swiftly shifted to the big question of selecting the Chief Minister.

Three prominent names are doing the rounds as the frontrunners for the post of Kerala Chief Minister are VD Satheesan, KC Venugopal, and Ramesh Chennithala. The situation has all the ingredients of a classic Congress power struggle – organisational heft versus legislative leadership, generational shift versus experience, and Delhi’s influence versus the state unit’s preference.

As per party sources, 43 out of 63 newly elected Congress MLAs are backing Venugopal. A handful of the MLAs did not indicate their preference and are learnt to have conveyed to the observers that they will abide by the high command’s choice.

Meanwhile, the Congress’s key ally in the UDF, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), the second largest party in the alliance with 22 MLAs, is reportedly backing Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan for the chief minister’s post. IUML leaders also conveyed to the observers that a sitting MLA should be made Chief Minister in order to avoid the need for a bypoll.

The Congress Legislature Party (CLP), which met at the KPCC headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, passed the customary one-line resolution authorising Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to take the final decision on the CLP leader, who will become the next Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan, who won from Vattiyoorkavu, told reporters that the next chief minister of Kerala will possibly be finalised by Sunday.

“I have given my opinion. The decision on who will be the chief minister will be known by Sunday," he said, refusing to elaborate further.

UDF won 102 seats in the Assembly election, and Congress has 63 MLAs who give their opinion to AICC observers to select the chief minister.

As the CLP meeting passed a resolution authorising the party’s high command to decide the next CM, observers will file a report to the Congress national leadership, who will take the final call.

(With inputs from agencies)

News india Venugopal Vs Satheesan: Poster War Erupts In Congress As Kerala CM Race Intensifies

Read More