Congress summons former state party chiefs to discuss Kerala CM pick; IUML backs Satheesan

Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leaders from Kerala, including former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee presidents, have been summoned to Delhi for talks on Chief Minister selection.

The prolonging CM selection by Congress even a week after winning the polls is also witnessing the resentment of coalition partners coming out and BJP continuing to jibe.

Former Kerala PCC president K Muraleedharan and V M Sudheeran have confirmed that the AICC leadership asked them to reach Delhi for talks. K Sudhakaran, Mullappally Ramachandran and M M Hassan are also being consulted by AICC leadership to reach Delhi.

AICC leadership was also learnt to be holding talks with veteran leader A K Antony.

Sources said that since the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) openly backed V D Satheesan, the AICC leadership was in a fix in ignoring him as IUML played key role in ensuring thumping victories of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, which comprises of parts of Malappuram and Kozhikode.

IUML leaders were also learnt to have conveyed the ground situations to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

There are also reports that since Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Sunny Joseph is most likely to become a minister and the AICC will be soon finding a replacement for him. Kodikunnil Suresh MP and Anto Antony MP are among the probables.

Resentment coming out

Meanwhile, the strong resentment in the UDF over the delay in CM selection started coming out.

IUML Malappuram district general secretary and former MLA P Abdul Hameed told a news channel that the elected MLAs were unable to face the voters and party workers owing to the delay in forming the government.

"Trying to justify the delay citing that it took 50 days for CM selection in Delhi could even receive slap from party workers," said Hameed, who is a former MLA.

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala had said in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's jibe over prolonging CM selection that BJP took 50 days to announce the Delhi CM. Chennithala also asked if Modi was having memory loss.

BJP continues jibe

Meanwhile, BJP state president and MLA designate Rajeev Chandrasekhar also made a jibe over the Congress infighting.

Sharing a social media troll that BJP Kerala and national leadership were involved in a fight for having AICC general secretary K C Venugopal at the state and in Delhi respectively, Chandrasekhar posted, "I will neither confirm nor deny that this is true."