Flex boards in support of KC Venugopal and VD Satheesan for the post of Kerala Chief Minister side by side at Vellayambalam in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday (8 May 2026) | Photo credit: Nirmal Harindran
The decision on the Chief Ministership of the Congress in Kerala seemed to take the shape of a political cliffhanger on Friday (May 8, 2026). The question of who among the three presumed three likely chief ministers – Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala – appeared to make the cut, with the party high command reportedly expected to make a key announcement on Sunday.
Mr Satheesan, Mr Chennithala and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Sunny Joseph left for Delhi, reportedly for the penultimate round of talks with the party high command on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the accidental revelation of a portion of a document purporting to show a list of “yes” votes of elected Congress MLAs allegedly supporting Mr. Venugopal, published in a newspaper on Friday, has caused political embarrassment and prompted AICC observers Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken to deny the “legitimacy of the record”.
In particular, Mr Joseph, who appeared to support Mr Venugopal, according to a “dubious” document secretly captured by the lens, somewhat cryptically told reporters that “numbers mean everything in parliamentary politics”. His statement assumed some significance in the backdrop of reports that most of the Congress MLA candidates had endorsed Mr. Venugopal for the “top post”. Notably, Sandeep Varier, another nominated deputy MLA whose name was on the “yes list”, did not deny that he supported Mr. Venugopal. The ‘list’ appeared to hold up a mirror to the allegedly raging power struggles and unrest in the Congress over the Chief Minister’s post.
First, the nominated party MLA from Uduma in Kasaragod, N. Neelakantan, emailed AICC observers that they had “erroneously” recorded his “definitive choice” for the post of chief minister as “neutral” on the “list”. Mr. Neelakantan’s complaint drew insinuations from Congress “faction fighters” on social media that attempts were being made to even the odds in Mr. Venugopal’s favor by ignoring the “opponents”.
Allies express concern
Notably, UDF allies have repeatedly expressed fears that the “unpleasant” selection process would tear apart the Congress and by extension the alliance, deeply dividing the tight-knit leadership team that delivered the historic electoral victory.
Mr Satheesan, Mr Venugopal and Mr Chennithala are at different points in their long political careers. A KPCC insider said the high command has reportedly summoned the three leaders to Delhi to possibly “work out a deal to avert a bitter leadership race that could have ramifications for the next UDF government”.
Meanwhile, the poster war between supporters of the three leaders appeared to be spiraling out of control, with dozens of new, rival hoardings popping up across Kerala.
Published – 08 May 2026 16:52 IST
