When will Kerala’s CM be announced? Decision likely after factional fight ends

NEW DELHI: There is still no answer to the question of who will be the next chief minister of Kerala even a week after the election results were declared. Reports say Sonia Gandhi has not yet intervened in the matter. After hours-long discussions on Saturday, V D Satheesan and Ramesh Chennithala returned without a final decision. It is also learnt that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi have not yet discussed the issue. Rahul Gandhi and Kharge are expected to discuss the chief minister issue with Sonia Gandhi soon. No discussion was held on the matter yesterday. Rahul Gandhi was in Chennai yesterday for the swearing-in ceremony of the Tamil Nadu government, while Kharge was in Bengaluru following the death of Karnataka minister D Sudhakar. The Congress high command is reportedly waiting for the factional clashes among leaders in Kerala to subside before taking a final decision. Discussions and the official announcement are expected only after Kharge returns from Karnataka. The high command is also observing whether the atmosphere of indiscipline within the state unit will continue. Indications had emerged earlier that Kharge proposed a compromise formula to share the chief minister’s post between Satheesan and Chennithala. According to reports, the suggestion was to give the first two-and-a-half years to Chennithala considering his seniority, and the remaining two-and-a-half years to Satheesan. The formula is aimed at avoiding further conflict. Meantime, Rahul Gandhi is of the stand that it would not be appropriate to ignore K C Venugopal, who reportedly enjoys the support of a majority of Congress MLAs. The final decision will depend on whether Rahul agrees with Kharge’s proposal and how all three leaders respond to it. Supporters of K C Venugopal opine this as a cooling period. Camps loyal to Satheesan and Chennithala say they are unaware of any such compromise formula aimed at resolving the dispute.