After 9 days of suspense, Indian National Congress finalises Kerala CM pick; announcement on Thursday

The Indian National Congress on Wednesday said it will announce its chief ministerial choice for Kerala on Thursday, ending days of suspense and intense internal consultations following the Congress-led UDF’s landslide victory in the Assembly elections.

After a nearly 40-minute meeting between Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi, party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said discussions had concluded and the final decision would be revealed the next day.

“As authorised by the members of the CLP in Kerala, the high command of Congress has completed all discussions. The decision on who the next CM of Kerala will be announced tomorrow,” Ramesh said.

Earlier in the day, Kerala Congress chief Sunny Joseph had indicated that the announcement was imminent, saying all consultations were over and only the final approval from Delhi remained.

Joseph also suggested that the delay in naming the chief minister may have been linked to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi being hospitalised.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front secured a two-thirds majority in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, the results of which were declared on May 4. Since then, the party has held multiple rounds of discussions with senior state leaders and former party chiefs over the leadership decision.

Among the frontrunners for the top post are K C Venugopal, outgoing Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala.