Game of throne: surfeit of faces for CM’s post in Congress in Kerala

Intra-party speculation on who will be the next possible Chief Minister of the Congress if the United Democratic Front (UDF) wins the 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala continues to emerge like a box coming out of a box, despite all the efforts of the party leadership to bust such “divided” conjectures.

Senior Congress leader and former Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, PJ Kurien, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, brought the organizational debates focusing on the Congress’s Chief Minister selection into public, sometimes silently and sometimes loudly.

At the UDF election meeting in Thiruvalla, Kottayam, Mr. Kurien said that the UDF will win on May 4, the poll results day. Pointing to senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala, who shares Dias with him, Mr. Kurien said, “I have no doubt that Mr. Chennithala will become the Prime Minister. He (Mr. Chennithala) may protest by saying that the party will decide.”

Kerala Congress leader Varghese Mammen, who is contesting as a UDF candidate from Thiruvalla, sat next to Mr Chennithala on the right side. Looking at them, Mr. Kurien joked: “Mr. Mammen will sit to the right of Mr. Chennithala on the Treasury Bench in the Kerala Legislative Assembly after the elections.”

Mr. Kurien’s statement sent the political rumor mill into overdrive. His claim went viral on traditional and social media, with some channels claiming that senior leaders of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), including K. Sudhakaran, supported Mr. Chennithala to the top office instead of Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal (MP).

Mr. Chennithala later downplayed Mr. Kurien’s statement. He reiterated the AICC’s line that the party’s national High Command will take the final call in consultation with Congress Legislative Party (CLP) members. “Congress and UDF are marching together to end the Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule. The aim of winning the elections comes first,” he said.

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KC Joseph warns against assumptions

Senior Congress leader KC Joseph said senior leaders should “desist from broadcasting self-defeating assumptions” about the party’s future chief minister.

In a Facebook post, Mr Joseph said the party was locked in a “live or die” election battle. “Tens of thousands of UDF workers are braving hostile conditions, including sweltering summer, to win the fight in the name of the party and not capture the Chief Minister’s post for anyone. Leaders must respect their sentiments and sacrifices,” he said.

Mr. Joseph said he was not making any recommendations but merely reminding leaders that they know how the Congress decides on the party’s chief ministers.

Satheesan avoids controversy

Mr Satheesan tried to avoid the argument. Speaking to reporters in Palakkad, he said that the Opposition was fighting in the polls as “UDF Team”.

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He stated, somewhat cryptically, that the Congress had a “galaxy of leaders” who could carry out any political task assigned to them by the party.