New Delhi [India], May 12 : Former Keralam Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Muraleedharan on Tuesday said that the final decision to elect the next Keralam Chief Minister will come this evening or Wednesday morning.
Muraleedharan's remark came after former KPCC Presidents Mullappally Ramachandran, MM Hassan, K Sudhakaran, VM Sudheeran, K Muraleedharan, A P Anilkumar, PC Vishnunath and Shafi Parambil met Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in a key meeting to finalise the next CM of the state.
Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Muraleedharan said. "We met Rahul Gandhi. The final decision will come this evening or tomorrow morning as Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress President) will arrive this evening in Delhi."
Meanwhile, Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said, " I am very happy," but when asked who the next Chief Minister of Keralam would be, he said, "I cannot say that."
Keralam Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, and senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala are seen among the top contenders for the Chief Minister post.
Earlier, Congress Keralam chief Sunny Joseph said, "The process is in progress. All the leaders were called to Delhi... They are having the discussions. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will be reaching Delhi today in the evening, and we are expecting a decision at the earliest."
The United Democratic Front (UDF) led by Congress secured 102 seats out of 140 seat Keralam assembly in the recently concluded elections. Despite achieving such a decisive majority, the UDF has yet to name its candidate for Chief Minister in the state, which has drawn criticism from opposition parties.
Meanwhile, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) passed a one-line resolution authorising the party high command to take the final decision on the CM candidate after consulting newly elected MLAs and alliance partners.
Following the delay, Prime Minister Modi targeted the Congress for the delay in naming a Chief Minister in Keralam, alleging that Congress governments remain preoccupied with internal disputes and power struggles instead of governance.
However, Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala defended the delay and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of forgetting that the BJP itself allegedly took 50 days to announce a Chief Minister in Delhi.
Chennithala said Congress follows a democratic consultation process, unlike the BJP, where, according to him, decisions are centralised."The Indian National Congress is a democratic party, not an authoritarian one," he had said.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor