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The intra-party speculation implicit who would beryllium the Congress’ adjacent prospective Chief Minister if the United Democratic Front (UDF) wins the 2026 Assembly elections successful Kerala keeps popping up similar a jack-in-the-box contempt the champion efforts of the party’s enactment to tamp down specified “schismatic” conjecturing.
P.J. Kurien, seasoned Congress person and erstwhile Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha, connected Wednesday (March 25, 2026) pushed the organisational contestations centred connected the Congress’ Chief Ministerial choice, astatine times muted and astatine times loud, into the nationalist domain.
At a UDF predetermination normal successful Thiruvalla, Kottayam, Mr. Kurien said the UDF would triumph connected May 4, the canvass results day. Pointing astatine elder enactment person Ramesh Chennithala, who shared the dias with him, Mr. Kurien said, “I person nary uncertainty that Mr. Chennithala volition beryllium the Chief Minister. He (Mr. Chennithala) mightiness protest, saying that the enactment volition decide”, helium stated.
Varghese Mammen, a Kerala Congress person contesting arsenic the UDF campaigner from Thiruvalla, sat adjacent to Mr. Chennithala connected the close side. Glancing astatine them, Mr. Kurien quipped: “Mr. Mammen volition beryllium connected the close of Mr. Chennithala connected the Treasury Bench successful the Kerala Legislative Assembly aft the polls.”
Mr. Kurien’s connection sent the governmental rumour mill into overdrive. His averment went viral connected accepted and societal media, with immoderate channels claiming that the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s (KPCC) elder leadership, including K. Sudhakaran, among others, backed Mr. Chennithala implicit Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and All India Congress Committee (AICC) wide caput K. C. Venugopal, MP, to the precocious office.
Mr. Chennithala aboriginal made airy of Mr. Kurien’s statement. He echoed the AICC’s enactment that the party’s nationalist High Command would instrumentality the last telephone successful consultation with the members of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP). “The Congress and the UDF are marching successful lockstep to extremity Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule. The purpose of winning the elections gains primacy implicit everything else,” helium said.
K.C. Joseph warns against conjectures
Senior Congress person K.C. Joseph said elder leaders should “desist from broadcasting self-defeating conjectures” astir the party’s prospective Chief Minister.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Joseph said the enactment was locked successful a “live-or-die” electoral battle. “Tens of thousands of UDF workers are braving hostile circumstances, including the sweltering summer, to triumph the combat for the enactment and not to seizure the Chief Minister’s station for immoderate individual. Leaders should respect their sentiment and sacrifice”, helium said.
Mr. Joseph said helium was not offering immoderate counsel, but simply reminding leaders that they cognize however the Congress decides the party’s Chief Ministers.
Satheesan sidesteps debate
Mr. Satheesan sought to sidestep the debate. He told reporters successful Palakkad that the Opposition was warring the polls arsenic “Team UDF”.
He noted, somewhat cryptically, that the Congress had “a postulation of leaders” susceptible of executing immoderate governmental task fixed to them by the party.
