Congress high command likely to announce CM decision today

NEW DELHI: The Congress high command, which held discussions with former KPCC presidents and senior Kerala leaders yesterday, has indicated that the decision on the next Chief Minister will not be delayed further. An announcement is likely to be made today. Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who was in Bengaluru, was urgently called to Delhi as part of the discussions. Rahul Gandhi also reportedly consulted Sonia Gandhi and A K Antony last night.

Rahul Gandhi held discussions with former KPCC presidents V M Sudheeran, K Muraleedharan, M M Hassan and K Sudhakaran, along with disciplinary committee chairman Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and working presidents P C Vishnunath, A P Anil Kumar and Shafi Parambil.

The discussions were held at Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence and Rahul Gandhi’s residence in Delhi. Rahul also reportedly spoke over the phone with Mullappally Ramachandran, who informed the leadership that he could not travel to Delhi.

During separate meetings lasting around 10 to 20 minutes each, Rahul Gandhi sought feedback on the current political situation in Kerala and explored ways to avoid internal conflict. He also asked about the recent public demonstrations supporting V D Satheesan and how those protests came to an abrupt halt after instructions from the high command.

Leaders’ positions
Sources indicate that, except for K Muraleedharan and V M Sudheeran, most leaders informed Rahul Gandhi about the favourable political conditions for K C Venugopal.

Muraleedharan reportedly told Rahul Gandhi that the protests in Kerala were not organised by anyone and reflected genuine public sentiment against making K C Venugopal Chief Minister. He is also said to have pointed out that by-elections could become a major challenge. Meanwhile, the Indian Union Muslim League reportedly conveyed its support for V D Satheesan to Rahul Gandhi through Priyanka Gandhi.