CM race heats up in Kerala; KC Venugopal camp claims support of 43 MLAs, 3 Independents too

New Delhi: As discussions over the chief minister’s post gather momentum in Kerala, the camp of KC Venugopal claims it has secured the support of a majority within the Congress Legislature Party. Out of the party’s 63 MLAs, 35 are said to be backing KC Venugopal. Eight out of the 10 A-group MLAs are also likely to support him, the camp claims. It also asserts that three Independents are in favour of KC.

According to the KC group, if the chief minister is to be decided purely on the basis of number strength, Venugopal enjoys a clear majority. When Congress observers arrive in Kerala, around 43 Congress MLAs are expected to convey their support for him to the party leadership.

However, the camp is not fully confident of the support of A-group MLAs Deepak Joy (Thrippunithura) and A Vincent (Kovalam), both of whom won their seats.

Despite claiming majority backing among MLAs, KC Venugopal would still require the support of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Sonia Gandhi to become Chief Minister. So far, the stance of the Gandhi family on Kerala’s chief ministerial choice remains unclear.