Posters targeting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have surfaced in Kerala’s Wayanad amid the ongoing deadlock over the chief minister post, despite the party’s emphatic victory in the recent assembly elections.
Priyanka Gandhi is the sitting MP from Wayanad, while Rahul Gandhi represented the constituency in his previous term. The posters, appearing near the Wayanad District Congress Committee office, warned the leaders against appointing party general secretary K.C. Venugopal as the chief minister.
Venugopal is the front-runner for the CM post, even as V.D. Satheesan, the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing assembly, enjoys strong popular support.
One poster read: “Mr Rahul and Priyanka, forget Wayanad. You won’t win again from here.” Another warned: “This is not a warning. Kerala will never forgive you for this blunder.” A third stated: “Mr Rahul, KC might be your bag bearer, but the people of Kerala never forgive you.”
The posters emerged amid marathon meetings in Delhi to select the new chief minister. Although veteran leader Ramesh Chennithala is also in the race, the main contest is now seen as between Venugopal and Satheesan.
Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge summoned former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee presidents and other senior state leaders to Delhi on Tuesday for wider consultations, as the party high command remains deadlocked over the CM choice.
Kharge and Rahul Gandhi are expected to meet again today to make a final decision, with Priyanka Gandhi reportedly playing a key role in the deliberations. Party insiders say the leadership is waiting for tempers in Kerala to cool after demonstrations and poster campaigns between Satheesan and Venugopal supporters erupted last week.