THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: More than 10 days after the declaration of the assembly election results, Kerala is set to get its chief minister on Thursday, with the Congress expected to announce the name of its legislature party leader at a meeting of newly elected party MLAs at KPCC headquarters here in the afternoon.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting to be held at 1 pm on May 14 was announced a day ago by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief Sunny Joseph.
The announcement came as the Congress high command, after several days of discussions with party leaders from the southern state, indicated that the next chief minister of the state would be announced on Thursday.
Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh conveyed this following a meeting between Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at the latter's residence in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan said there is some public discomfort over the delay in announcing the Kerala Chief Minister, but it will subside once the new government assumes office.
Speaking to reporters, he said the party has adopted a democratic process in selecting the Chief Minister and some delay is natural.
“It is true that there is discomfort following the delay. But it can be overcome once the government comes to power,” he said.
Muraleedharan said he would travel by train from Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday night to visit the Guruvayur Lord Sree Krishna temple and would return on Friday.
Asked whether he would pray at the temple regarding the Chief Minister’s post, Muraleedharan said he has never prayed for positions such as MP or MLA.“I always pray for happiness and prosperity for the family,” he said.
He said he expects a decision before he leaves the state capital.
The Congress-led UDF secured a more than two-thirds majority in the Kerala Assembly elections, but the party has been unable to decide its chief ministerial face due to lobbying by different camps and protests by workers at the ground level.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, and senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala are among the prominent names being considered for the post.