NEW DELHI: With Congress-led UDF set for a comeback in Kerala after a decade, the focus has now shifted to its chief ministerial face. The alliance has so far decided not to reveal the name for the top post.“Our elected MLAs will come to Thiruvananthuram and hold a Legislature Party meeting and talk to our coalition parties. After that, a UDF meeting will be called. Everything will be decided by the Congress high command”, said Congress MP K Suresh.Though the party leaders have not floated any names for the top post, camps within the party itself have expressed their support for certain leaders.
VD Satheesan
Satheesan’s name for Kerala CM is reportedly in the talks. He has secured victory from Paravur against LDF candidate ET Taisaon Master. He is the leader of opposition in the current Kerala assembly. “Thanks to the people who gave a resounding victory to Team UDF. Gratitude to Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and others who carried out a strong campaign across Keralam. When I assumed office as the Leader of the Opposition, I had promised to bring the UDF back with a brilliant victory in Keralam. I have been able to keep that promise,” he said.
KC Venugopal
Venugopal represents Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency. His name is doing the rounds for CM face in Kerala.Senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar has said that if party general secretary Venugopal aspires to become Kerala’s chief minister, he would have to go through the required party process. Speaking to a television channel in Delhi, the former Kerala in-charge and MP from Katihar, Bihar, added that he is confident of a UDF win in the state. He also pointed to exit poll trends as an indication of the alliance’s expected performance. “The high command will take a final view,” he said.
Ramesh Chennithala
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala is also in fray for Kerala CM reportedly. He served as the leader of opposition during Pinarayi Vijayan’s first stint as the CM. Chennithala registered a strong win in the Haripad assembly constituency, defeating CPI candidate TT Jismon by a margin of 23,377 votes after 15 rounds of counting, according to Election Commission data.The EC figures showed that Chennithala secured 68,184 votes, accounting for 47.08% of the total votes polled in the constituency. The results confirmed a clear and comfortable victory for the senior Congress leader over his nearest rival.In the 2021 assembly elections, Chennithala secured 72,768 votes, accounting for 48.31% of the total votes polled, and won the seat with a margin of 13,666 votes, according to Election Commission data. In 2016, he performed even stronger, winning 75,666 votes, which was 51.05% of the vote share, and registered a victory margin of 18,605 votes as per EC figures.
Shashi Tharoor
Though the Thiruvananthapuram MP might not be a popular choice of the UDF, at least in the recent times, given his soft stance towards the BJP, his name cannot be ruled out. When asked about the CM face, Tharoor said, “That I don’t know, only Delhi will tell you, but I can say that everyone understands that we should not delay, we should honor the confidence of the people by going ahead as quickly as possible.”
