Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar took a sharp swipe at the Congress over its failure to decide on a chief minister face, joking that even the BJP appeared “split” over whether Congress leader KC Venugopal should remain in Delhi or move to Kerala.This comes as Congress, despite the UDF alliance securing a sweeping victory in the assembly elections, remained locked in a bitter internal tussle until days after the results were announced. The deadlock makes Kerala the only one of the four states that went into assembly elections this year without a chief minister.Replying to a user on X joking on the prolonged deadlock over the top post, Chandrasekhar sarcastically suggested that even the BJP had a preferred candidate among the Congress contenders.The post shared by a netizen said, “Hilarious tough fight between Kerala BJP and national BJP. Kerala BJP wants KC Venugopal in Kerala, national BJP wants KC Venugopal in Delhi”.Quoting the post, Chandrasekhar wrote, “My response – I will neither confirm nor deny that this is true.” The exchange quickly drew attention online as the Congress leadership in Kerala continued to struggle to arrive at a consensus on its chief ministerial face despite the UDF securing a commanding 102 seats in the 140-member Kerala Assembly earlier this month.Three senior Congress leaders have emerged as frontrunners for the post: Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala. The leadership contest has triggered intense lobbying within the party, with supporters of the three camps engaging in poster campaigns, public messaging and online sparring.While Satheesan and Chennithala contested the Assembly elections, Venugopal, currently a Member of Parliament and a key figure in the Congress high command, has also emerged as a serious contender, turning the race into a three-cornered battle.According to Congress sources, a majority of MLAs are believed to be backing Venugopal. Satheesan, however, continues to enjoy significant support among party workers, while Chennithala remains in contention after previously being viewed as a strong Chief Ministerial prospect in the 2021 Assembly polls.Even as all three leaders have publicly appealed to supporters to avoid factionalism and public displays of strength, the power struggle within the Congress has continued unabated, delaying the announcement of Kerala’s next Chief Minister while other states that went to the polls earlier this month have already installed their governments.
