It has been a week since the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won the Kerala assembly elections. However, there is still tension surrounding the Congress’ chief ministerial candidate for the state.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocked the party’s “alleged indecisiveness” in appointing a new chief minister for Kerala and accused the Congress leadership of allegedly backstabbing its own leaders.
Read also | Shashi Tharoor decodes BJP’s victory in Bengal, marks deleted voters and cites delay
Alleging that Congress-led governments are consumed by “internal disputes” rather than public service, Prime Minister Modi pointed out that despite securing the seat in Kerala, the party still failed to choose its chief minister, leaving the state administration in a state of paralysis.
“Instead of solving the people’s problems, the government here spends most of its time solving internal disputes. It is still undecided how long the chief minister will stay in office… Even in Kerelam they are not able to come to a conclusion now. They make promises to their own party leaders and then backstab them. The same thing happened in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, it is still in the same game.” PM Modi said this at an event in Karnataka.
PM Modi’s remarks came after the Congress-led UDF won 102 of the state’s 140 seats.
Assembly elections were held in Kerala along with West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. West Bengal, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu have their own Chief Ministers. Himanta Biswa Sarma is all set to be the Chief Minister of Assam. However, the Congress party is yet to finalize its chief ministerial selection.
Ball on the court of high command
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi have reportedly taken up the matter and the name is likely to be announced soon.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noting that the prime minister seems to have “amnesia” over his own party’s leadership’s history of delays in Delhi.
Responding to the Prime Minister’s slurs regarding the ongoing tension over the selection of the Kerala Chief Minister, Chennithala reminded him that the BJP itself had reportedly delayed the selection of the Delhi Chief Minister by 50 days.
Congress leader K Muraleedharan on Sunday said the party workers are bound to accept the high command’s decision regarding the selection of Kerala’s next chief minister. Responding to questions from reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Muraleedharan said the current debate over the chief minister’s post had not overshadowed the electoral victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the southern state.
Top Congress leaders met in Delhi for over three hours on Saturday to discuss government formation in Kerala. The meeting convened by Kharge at his residence was attended by Gandhi, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, Kerala in-charge Deepa Dasmunshi, general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and senior state officials Ramesh Chennithala and VD Satheesan.
Read also | KPCC prez urges workers to refrain from demonstrations during intense campaigns
Venugopal, Satheesan and Chennithala are seen as the frontrunners for the Chief Minister post.
“Everyone expressed their views and Rahulji listened to them patiently. The final decision on the chief minister will be taken by the Congress high command and any decision will be taken by all,” Chennithala said after the meeting.
Kerala Congress chief Sunny Joseph and senior observers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik were also present in the meeting.
The term of the Kerala Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on 23 May 2026.
Satheesan said the Congress won a historic victory in the Kerala Assembly polls due to the hard work of all workers, but subsequently there were demonstrations, social media campaigns and even flexboards over the choice of chief minister, creating a picture of division in the party.
“We all request together not to conduct such demonstrations and campaigns for any of us. It will hurt Congress workers, UDF activists and a large number of people who voted for us,” he said.
Endorsing his views, Venugopal said the people had given the party a huge victory and wanted a UDF government that would work for them. “There have been some unfortunate incidents. These should be stopped,” he said.
A majority of party MLAs are said to be in favor of Venugopal occupying the top post, while the public’s choice is Satheesan.
Read also | WFH Advice: Why PM Modi urged Indians to stay home amid West Asian crisis
Supporters of both Venugopal and Satheesan put up posters and banners of their leaders in Delhi and the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Some university students in Delhi also showed strong support to Satheesan and welcomed him on his late night arrival in the national capital. Posters of Venugopal as the next chief minister also appeared outside Kharge’s residence.
The Congress has 63 MLAs in the 140-member Kerala Assembly. The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has 22 legislators and the alliance partner’s opinion will matter. The Kerala Congress (KEC) won eight seats and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) three in the just-concluded polls. The UDF won a total of 102 seats, more than a two-thirds majority.
Key things
- Internal conflicts within political parties can hinder effective governance.
- Public perception and party unity are essential in the selection of leadership.
- The decision-making process in political parties can be influenced by various stakeholders and alliances.
