Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala defended the time taken by the Congress leadership to arrive at a consensus, noting that only five days had passed since the declaration of the Assembly election results. File.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday (May 10, 2026) hit out at the BJP amid ongoing deliberations over the selection of Kerala’s next Chief Minister, saying the grand old party does not function on instructions from Nagpur.
Mr. Chennithala, who is among the main contenders for the Chief Minister’s post along with V.D. Satheesan and K.C. Venugopal, defended the time taken by the Congress leadership to arrive at a consensus, noting that only five days had passed since the declaration of the Assembly election results.
“We are not a party that acts on directions from Nagpur. Congress functions in a completely democratic manner,” he told reporters in New Delhi.
The senior leader said the party high command had held discussions with all leaders concerned and would announce a decision at the earliest.
“Everyone has been consulted. The high command will take a decision as early as possible,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the BJP, Mr. Chennithala said decisions in that party were taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, whereas the Congress followed a democratic process.
“Five days is not a big delay. The selection of the Chief Minister is a process. The AICC has a process for everything. We do not have a system where Modi and Amit Shah together decide everything. Decisions are taken after discussions and through democratic means,” he said.
Referring to the BJP criticism on the issue, Mr. Chennithala said there was no need to respond when the BJP itself had taken around 50 days to decide on its Chief Minister in Delhi.
“Modi, who created uncertainty in New Delhi for 50 days without declaring a Chief Minister, is criticising us now. He should not forget that,” he added.
After the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, the BJP came under attack from opposition parties over the alleged delay in announcing its Chief Minister candidate.
On Saturday (May 9, 2026), Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge held discussions in New Delhi with Leader of the Opposition Mr. Satheesan, AICC general secretary Mr. Venugopal, Mr. Chennithala, KPCC chief Sunny Joseph, and AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala Deepa Dasmunshi regarding the selection of the Congress Legislature Party leader, who will be the next Chief Minister of Kerala.
Later, the Kerala leaders and Ms. Dasmunshi jointly appealed to party workers to refrain from protests and flex-board campaigns over the leadership issue.
Published – May 11, 2026 03:26 am IST
