Thiruvananthapuram, May 7 (IANS) Even before the Congress high command settles on Kerala’s next Chief Minister, a politically uncomfortable question has begun echoing across party circles, social media platforms and tea shops alike: if Members of Parliament were barred from contesting the Assembly elections, how can a sitting MP now emerge as a frontrunner for the top post?

At the centre of the debate is K. C. Venugopal, the powerful AICC general secretary who has unexpectedly emerged as a serious contender for the Chief Minister’s chair after the Congress-led UDF’s emphatic return to power.

The irony is hard to miss for many within the party. Ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls, the Congress high command had reportedly taken a firm stand that sitting MPs should stay away from the state electoral battle.

The logic was simple: Parliamentarians should focus on national politics while state leaders take charge of Kerala’s comeback mission.

That decision had disappointed several senior leaders eager to return to state politics.

Among those keen to contest were UDF convenor Adoor Prakash and former KPCC president K. Sudhakaran.

Sudhakaran, in fact, is learnt to have resisted the directive strongly, with the standoff reaching a near breaking point before veteran A. K. Antony personally intervened to persuade him to relent.

Now, with Venugopal’s name gaining momentum in the Chief Ministerial race, questions over political consistency are surfacing sharply.

Supporters of outgoing Leader of Opposition V. D. Satheesan argue that it was Satheesan who led the Congress revival from the front, both inside the Assembly and on the streets during the party’s difficult years in opposition.

Former Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala too remains in contention, asserting that seniority cannot be overlooked.

Adding fuel to the churn, Sudhakaran, who shares a strained relationship with Satheesan, remarked after meeting AICC observers on Thursday that the Congress was a party with ‘hundreds of Satheesans’.

Meanwhile, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said the Congress legislature party has passed a one-line resolution authorising party chief Mallikarjuna Kharge to take the final call.

Outside closed-door meetings, the Venugopal question is only growing louder, and sources point out that a sizeable number of newly elected MLAs have rooted for Venugopal, followed by Satheesan.

Both Satheesan and Chennithala have been asked to report to Delhi on Friday, and by Sunday, the new Chief Minister of Kerala will be known.

–IANS

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