Kerala is yet to get a chief minister even nine days after the assembly elections have been announced. This comes even after a key meeting was held between Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday evening.
The frontrunners for the CM post in Kerala includes Ramesh Chennithala, V.D. Satheesan and K.C. Venugopal. The Congress top brass held intense discussions with the three leaders, the party's MLAs and MPs in the state, several senior party leaders including former KPCC chiefs as well as heads of Congress allies in the UDF. On Wednesday, Rahul drove down to Kharge's residence for the meeting, which lasted for 40 minutes. After the huddle, Jairam Ramesh, the AICC General Secretary in-charge of Communications, told media that the the CM pick would be announced only on Thursday.
However, unconfirmed reports on Wednesday suggested that V.D. Satheesan was finalised as Congress's pick for next Kerala chief minister. Congress workers gathered outside Satheesan's residence in Aluva as well as at KPCC headquarters Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram awaiting the announcement of Satheesan as chief minister. However, after the meeting, the Congress workers were asked to disperse from Indira Bhavan after the announcement was postponed.
Satheesan, who was the Opposition Leader in the previous assembly, received support from UDF allies, ordinary Congress workers and the public.
