CM selection a democratic process: Chennithala

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday (May 10, 2026) lashed out at the BJP, saying that the grand old party is not operating as per instructions from Nagpur, amid ongoing talks on selection of Kerala’s next Chief Minister.

Mr. Chennithala, who is among the leading candidates for the Chief Minister’s post along with VD Satheesan and KC Venugopal, defended the time taken by the Congress leadership to reach a consensus, stating that only five days have passed since the Assembly election results were declared.

“We are not a party acting on instructions from Nagpur. The Congress functions in a completely democratic manner,” he told reporters in New Delhi.

The senior leader said that the party high command is holding talks with all relevant leaders and will announce a decision as soon as possible.

“Everyone has been consulted. The high command will make a decision as early as possible,” he said.

Harshly criticizing the BJP, Mr. Chennithala said that decisions in this party were taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while the Congress followed a democratic process.

“Five days is not a big delay. Election of the Prime Minister is a process. AICC has a process for everything. We do not have a system where Modi and Amit Shah decide everything together. Decisions are taken after discussion and through democratic means,” he said.

Addressing the BJP’s criticism on the issue, Mr. Chennithala said there was no need to respond at a time when the BJP took nearly 50 days to decide on its Chief Minister in Delhi.

“Modi, who created uncertainty in New Delhi for 50 days without declaring himself Prime Minister, is now criticizing us. He should not forget this,” he added.

Following the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP came under attack from opposition parties for its alleged delay in announcing its Prime Minister candidate.

On Saturday, May 9, 2026, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge held talks in New Delhi with Opposition Leader Mr. Satheesan, AICC general secretary Mr. Venugopal, Mr. Chennithala, KPCC president Sunny Joseph and AICC general secretary in-charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi on the selection of the Congress Legislative Assembly Party leader to be the next Chief Minister of Kerala.

Later, Kerala leaders and Ms. Dasmunshi jointly appealed to party workers to avoid protests and soft-board campaigns on the leadership issue.