Thiruvananthapuram | Claims of popularity among voters, support from a majority of elected Congress MLAs and experience as the party's seniormost leader are being cited as key factors by the camps of V D Satheesan, K C Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala as lobbying intensifies in the race for Kerala's next chief minister.
A decade after the party-led UDF stormed back to power in Kerala in the April 9 Assembly polls with a massive 102 seats, securing over one crore votes out of the 2.15 crore cast, all eyes are on the steps being taken by the Congress high command to decide who will lead the government in the southern state.
The high command has appointed senior leaders Mukul Wasnik and Ajay Maken as party observers for Kerala.
The process is complex, as factors such as religion and caste often play a crucial role in the formation of a Congress government in Kerala, and the race for the chief ministership is among three members of the Nair community -- Chennithala, Venugopal and Satheesan.
Interestingly, all three are disciples of the late Congress stalwart and former Chief Minister Karunakaran.
While Chennithala and Satheesan were elected from their strongholds of Haripad and Paravoor, respectively, with thumping margins, Venugopal, the AICC general secretary (organisation), did not contest the election.
As speculation intensifies, the leaders have begun to display their strength and loyalty to the party high command. Their supporters have stepped up campaigns for their respective leaders through extensive social media drives and by organising large receptions, such as those held for Satheesan in Ernakulam and Venugopal in New Delhi.
Soon after the results of the Assembly elections were announced on Monday, Chennithala, a staunch loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family, said that Rahul Gandhi was behind the UDF's historic victory, crediting him with the five guarantees that had a major impact on the election.
"The strongest leadership behind this victory came from Rahul Gandhi. He convened all our leaders in Delhi, discussed the need to win, and guided us to function as a united team--the UDF working cohesively. This leadership was provided by Rahul Gandhi along with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
"Priyanka Gandhi's active presence and Sonia Gandhi's blessings were also with us. The five guarantees announced by Rahul Gandhi had a major impact on the election. We will implement all five guarantees within a fixed timeframe," Chennithala said.
He was the chairman of the UDF's campaign committee for the election.
At the same time, supporters of Satheesan strongly argue that he deserves the chief minister's post, saying the Paravoor MLA led the UDF from the front as Leader of the Opposition to victory after it failed to prevent the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF from retaining power in the 2021 elections.
Although Satheesan is said not to have the necessary support of the elected MLAs in the race, his camp claims that their leader has strong backing from UDF partners, including the Indian Union Muslim League, the largest partner of the Congress-led alliance.
"We cannot ignore the sentiments of the people who voted for us. They credit Satheesan with leading the UDF to victory in the state," a Congress leader who was re-elected from his seat in Ernakulam district, Satheesan's bastion, told PTI.
Venugopal's camp, however, claims that the popular support alone cannot be considered as a factor for electing the Chief Minister and the support of the party MLAs is crucial.
They argue that the support of the elected party MLAs is crucial. The party alone has 63 MLAs in the 140-member state Assembly.
"The high command will certainly take the views of the MLAs into consideration," said a party MLA involved in mobilising more support for Venugopal.
He claimed that a majority of the party's MLAs support Venugopal for the post, although he did not contest the polls. However, his chances of securing the post will depend on the stance of Rahul Gandhi. The AICC general secretary (organisation) is a staunch loyalist of Rahul.
According to Venugopal's team, the Alappuzha MP played a central role in the UDF's victory by spearheading the "Indira Guarantee" campaign, leading extensive statewide outreach and overseeing a carefully managed candidate selection process based on surveys and feedback.
Venugopal also ensured organisational cohesion by pacifying dissent within the party, preventing rebel candidates and implementing a three-tier monitoring system with national and state-level observers to address grassroots issues, they claimed.
Additionally, he coordinated alliance partners, mobilised national leaders and star campaigners, and engaged with community groups, while also helping bring disaffected CPI(M) leaders into the UDF fold, they added.
An insider from Chennithala's camp claimed that the high command cannot ignore the experience of the senior leader, who was moulded into a national figure in the NSU and Youth Congress by Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
He also claimed that both Satheesan and Venugopal were once followers of Chennithala in organisational politics.
As lobbying intensifies among the camps of the three leaders in Kerala as well as in Delhi, posters have appeared in various parts of the state, put up by supporters backing their respective leaders for the Chief Minister's post.