The Future Ai

VD Satheesan, KC Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala (Images/Agencies)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Election won. Succession unresolved. Congress brass moved into overdrive Tuesday to pick Kerala’s next CM, with intense lobbying breaking out across factions after the party-led UDF’s emphatic victory, reports Rajiv G. The decision rests with LS opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, but consultations could stretch up to a week, according to sources.Three names anchor the contest. Leader of opposition VD Satheesan, who steered UDF through five years in the wilderness to a landslide, is seen as frontrunner. AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, a Rahul aide, is mobilizing support. Ramesh Chennithala is the third choice.Ramesh Chennithala, a former opposition face and multiple-term legislator, is pressing his case on experience and seniority. Satheesan has the support of Indian Union Muslim League (22 seats), strengthening his pitch as the consensusface.Chennithala has said seniority must weigh heavily in the choice. Venugopal’s campclaimed a sizeable bloc ofMLAs and MPs is in its corner.Congress, with 63 seats in the 140-member assembly, is the largest party in UDF that unseated CPM-led LDF’s twoterm govt. UDF won 102 seats, while LDF managed 35. The challenge now is political arithmetic within Congress—balancing claims, preventing fissures and ensuring asmooth swearing-in.

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Congress brass has kept options open, focusing on consensus. A meeting chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, with Rahul present, isset to appoint AICC observers.Pressure is building for a quick call.Party insiders warned that picking a compromise name outside the main contenders could trigger a backlash, with both Satheesan and Chennithalacamps unlikely to accept a diminished role in cabinet formation under such a scenario.AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said a decision would come soon amid efforts to forge unanimity.The triangular contest hasdeepened fault lines. Venugopal’s backers cited organizational heft and central backing.Satheesan’s camp mentioned public acceptability and his role in the victory. Chennithala has reminded Congress that Satheesan’s elevation as opposition leader in 2021 went against prevailing sentiment, underlining the central role in leadershipcalls. Congress said allies’views will be heard but it is under no compulsion to yield ground, given its numbers.