Kerala CM post: Protests in Wayanad against Rahul, Priyanka

As the impasse over the selection of Kerala’s next Chief Minister continues, posters targeting Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra surfaced outside the Wayanad District Congress Committee office, exposing deep factional tensions within the party’s state unit.

The posters appeared on Wednesday (May 13), warning the Congress high command against appointing senior leader K C Venugopal as Chief Minister.

Protest against Venugopal’s appointment

The controversy comes days after the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) secured a landslide victory in the Kerala Assembly elections, winning 102 of the state’s 140 seats. Since then, three senior leaders have emerged as frontrunners for the top post — K C Venugopal, V D Satheesan, and Ramesh Chennithala — but the party leadership is yet to announce a final decision.

Also read: In Kerala CM stalemate, a familiar Congress predicament, and a test for Rahul Gandhi

The posters carried sharp messages directed at Rahul and Priyanka, including: “Mr Rahul, KC might be your bag bearer, but people of Kerala never forgive you” and “RG and PG, this is not a warning. Kerala will never forgive you for this blunder,” signalling anger over the possibility of Venugopal being chosen as CM.

So why the raging protests in Wayanad should worry the Congress top brass? Both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contested Lok Sabha elections from Wayanad and won, with huge margins. Both leaders got massive support from Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key UDF ally, in Wayanad, where the party has a strong support base.

With the IUML openly backing V D Satheesan for the Chief Minister’s post, while Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are perceived to be favouring K C Venugopal, the leadership decision has acquired added political sensitivity for the Congress high command.

The posters were found outside the district Congress committee office in Wayanad and near Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s MP office in Mukkam, Kozhikode.

Workers root for Satheesan

While Venugopal reportedly has the backing of six of the nine senior leaders who attended the Congress meeting on Tuesday (May 12), a section of party workers and grassroots activists have openly demanded that the Chief Minister’s post go to Satheesan, who served as Leader of Opposition over the past five years.

Satheesan also has significant support among the party rank and file, as well as key UDF allies such as the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Kerala Congress (Joseph).

Also read: Three leaders, one chair: Congress’s Kerala CM test begins

No organisation has officially claimed responsibility for the posters so far. However, CCTV footage reportedly shows an unidentified individual putting them up around 3 am on Wednesday. Local Congress workers have launched efforts to identify the person involved.

Deadlock continues

In a separate incident in Thrissur district’s Vadanappally, a flex board opposing Venugopal that appeared outside a local panchayat office was allegedly traced to a CPI(M) activist, who reportedly admitted to putting it up in an internal party WhatsApp group.

Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have held marathon discussions in Delhi and summoned former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) presidents in an attempt to break the deadlock over the leadership question.