Three prominent names were doing the rounds as the frontrunners for the post of Kerala Chief Minister: VD Satheesan, KC Venugopal, and Ramesh Chennithala.
VD Satheesan was seen as the main face of the Congress and UDF campaign.
Kerala CM Race: After 11 days of speculation, suspense, negotiations and intense lobbying within the Congress party, senior party leader VD Satheesan on Wednesday was finally named as the next Chief Minister of Kerala.
The decision was announced at a press conference by AICC in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi and the party’s central observers for the state Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik.
The Congress leadership finalised the decision after Rahul Gandhi met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on Tuesday.
Three prominent names were doing the rounds as the frontrunners for the post of Kerala Chief Minister: VD Satheesan, KC Venugopal, and Ramesh Chennithala.
According to party sources, Venugopal was considered the frontrunner for the top post until two days ago. However, the situation changed after senior Kerala Congress leaders held discussions with Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.
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As per sources, leaders conveyed to Rahul Gandhi that public sentiment, as well as the views of alliance partners, strongly favoured outgoing Kerala Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan. They also advised the Congress leadership to avoid triggering bypolls by choosing a non-MLA for the chief minister’s post.
As reported earlier by CNN-News18, 43 out of 63 newly elected Congress MLAs were backing Venugopal for the top post during consultations held by AICC observers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik in Thiruvananthapuram last week.
The Congress’ key ally in the UDF, Indian Union Muslim League, which has 22 MLAs, however, was said to be backing Satheesan. IUML leaders reportedly told Congress observers that selecting a sitting MLA as chief minister would help avoid unnecessary by-elections.
Satheesan, who served as Leader of the Opposition over the past five years, was widely seen as the face of the Congress-led UDF campaign against the Left government headed by Pinarayi Vijayan. Many within the party believed the public viewed him as the natural choice for chief minister.
Read More: VD Satheesan Is Next Kerala Chief Minister: How The Grassroots Congressman Reached The Top Post
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.
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