No CM face in Kerala, says Congress

Top Congress leader said that the decision on the chief ministerial candidate will be taken after the assembly elections

Congress on Monday decided it would not project a chief ministerial face in the Kerala assembly elections and strive to give the opportunity to youth as it gears up to challenge the ruling LDF.

Top leaders from Kerala, including veteran A K Antony, former chief minister Oommen Chandy, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, state unit chief Mullapally Ramachandran, Ramesh Chennithala along with AICC general secretary in charge of the state Tariq Anwar met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to discuss plans for the assembly elections in April.

“We are going to the elections with one goal – to bring the UDF to power,” Anwar told reporters after the meeting.

Antony said that the decision on the chief ministerial candidate will be taken after the assembly elections and the party would fight the elections as a united force.

The recent victory of the ruling Left Democratic Front in the local bodies elections has put the Congress on the back foot, prompting calls for the return of 77-year-old Chandy to helm the campaign to ensure support of diverse social organisations to the party.

“We will take along all sections of the society – the youth, women and weaker sections and contest the elections as a united force,” Anwar said.

Given the Covid-19 pandemic, the campaign for the elections is expected to have a digital imprint beside the traditional door-to-door canvassing.

Rahul, who represents Wayanad in the Lok Sabha, is also expected to play a key role in the election campaign.

Congress believes that there were ample issues to corner Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF in the state and the need was to ensure unity of all the factions within the party.