Three-hour meeting fails to end impasse over Congress Chief Minister for Kerala

The Congress’s bid to name a Chief Minister for Kerala remained at an impasse despite Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi holding consultations with the three main contenders, AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal and senior leaders Ramesh Chennithala and V.D. Satheesan, and KPCC president Sunny Joseph for over three hours on Saturday (May 9, 2026).

AICC observers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik were also present at the meeting. The consultations were held together and individually.

“An appropriate decision will be taken by the high command in due course,” Deepa Dasmunsi, party general secretary in charge of Kerala, told the media after the meeting. Asked to specify further, she said the high command had time until May 23 to finalise the candidate. Flanked by the senior Congress leadership from Kerala, she urged party workers to refrain from the embarrassing public display of their chief ministerial choices. The leaders, too, made individual appeals to party workers and sympathisers to remove all boards, banners and posters put up in public places in support of their favourite chief ministerial candidates.

Sources said the high-stakes discussions were marked by intense posturing and competing claims by the contenders. The Central leadership would hold no further consultations with the aspirants, they said. The high command, it is learnt, will take a final decision after considering the claims of each faction, along with the views of Congress MLA-designates and constituents of the United Democratic Front (UDF).

While the consultations in New Delhi were led by Mr. Kharge, Mr. Gandhi joined in, hoping to reach a consensus. Senior leaders said Mr. Kharge and Mr. Gandhi were visibly dismayed by the poster wars and public marches across Kerala over the past few days, rooting for their favourite leaders, which often appeared discourteous to other leaders.

Workers removed the aggressive flex boards, which sullied the party’s image in the State, from many parts following the appeal even as new boards supporting other candidates surfaced.

Governance is the ultimate currency in Kerala

Earlier, Mr. Kharge had also directed the State leadership to take strict action against those violating party discipline and decorum in connection with the Chief Ministerial controversy in Kerala. The high command conveyed that any attempt to tarnish the party’s image would not be tolerated.

Mr. Venugopal has been asserting his claim to the top post by highlighting the support he enjoys among a majority of legislators in the State, while Mr. Satheesan has continued to press his case by citing the leadership role he played in securing the party’s impressive victory in Kerala. Mr. Chennithala, meanwhile, has been underscoring his seniority within the party as the basis for his claim to the post.

Earlier on Friday, Congress leader K. Muraleedharan said that the views of the constituent parties in the UDF along with the opinions of the MLAs, should be considered in the debate over the chief ministerial candidate. The day also saw bitter exchanges between KSU and MSF, students wing of the Congress and its UDF partner IUML, after IUML’s comments about the selection of Chief Minister drew flak from Congress’s MLA designate Mathew Kuzhalnadan. Congress MP Rajmohan Unnithan, too, took exception to Mr. Kuzhalnadan’s position, bringing to surface the differences within the Congress.