Who will be Kerala CM? Congress to make much awaited announcement today

After days of intense lobbying and negotiations, the Congress is set to announce their Chief Ministerial pick on Thursday, May 14. This was communicated on Wednesday by Jairam Ramesh, the Congress General Secretary following a 40-minute long meeting between Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.

The suspense over the party's pick would end 10 days after the results of the assembly elections were declared. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had won over two-thirds majority in the Kerala Assembly polls.

"As authorised by the members of the CLP in Kerala, the high command of the Congress has completed all discussions, and the decision on who the next chief minister of Kerala will be will be announced tomorrow," Ramesh said.

All democratic practices and processes will be followed in announcing the chief minister's name, a senior leader, who did not wish to be named said, indicating that the CM nominee may be revealed in Kerala.

AICC general secretary for organisation, K C Venugopal, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Kerala assembly, V D Satheesan, and senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala are among those in the race for the post.

The party has been grappling with its chief ministerial pick and has held several rounds of discussions with local leaders and former party chiefs in the state.

Rahul Gandhi had previously met several leaders from Kerala and around eight former state unit chiefs to ascertain the ground situation.

Protests at the ground level by party workers had prompted the party leadership to hold discussions with state leaders before finalising the next chief minister.

Congress' allies in the UDF favour Satheesan, who also enjoys huge support among the public as well as party workers on the ground. However, with the powerful AICC general secretary Venugopal throwing his hat in the ring, the choice has not been easy for the party high command.

Kerala is the fourth southern state where the Congress is in power. It has governments in Karnataka and Telangana and has joined hands with the ruling TVK in Tamil Nadu after the recent polls.