Kerala CM announcement highlights: Suspense in Kerala to end tomorrow as Congress to decide among frontrunners

The live updates to the blog are closed.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE: Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has now announced that discussions within the party have been completed and Kerala's chief minister will be announced tomorrow.

The wait for a chief minister for Kerala is expected to end soon, over a week after assembly election results were announced, as Congress may announce its pick for the top job after much discussions and deliberations.

Several Congress' Kerala leaders, including five former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs (KPCC), United Democratic Front convenor, KPCC disciplinary committee chief and three KPCC working presidents, met Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday to discuss and pick a chief minister for Kerala.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE: Congress to announce next Kerala CM tomorrow, says Jairam Ramesh.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE: Kerala Congress leaders, including KPCC Working President Shafi Parambil, arrive at 10 Janpath.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE: Supporters of Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal gathered at his residence in Kochi as meetings of Congress High Command are underway in Delhi to decide the CM face of Kerala.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE: Posters were seen near Wayanad district Congress office warning Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of losing further polls if KC Venugopal is nominated for Kerala CM post.

KC Venugopal has emerged to be one of the frontrunners for the post of Kerala CM.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE: The state Congress chief Sunny Joseph on Wednesday suggested that the announcement could finally come later in the day, saying discussions within the party had been completed and the final word would come from Delhi.

"We expect the Chief Minister's name to be announced today. It is understood that all discussions have been completed. We are waiting for the announcement today. Sonia Gandhi was in the hospital, so there could be a slight delay because of that. The Chief Minister's name will be announced from Delhi," Joseph said.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE: Kerala Congress leaders VD Satheesan, KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala are said to be in the running for the post of chief minister.

While Venugopal has the backing of the majority of the elected Congress MLAs, Satheesan has wide support among the party rank and file and key allies like the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Kerala Congress (Joseph), as reported in an earlier HT report.

In a key meeting on selecting the United Democratic Front (UDF) CM on Tuesday, Venugopal was backed by six of the nine party leaders , while two leaders-- K Muralidharan and VM Sudheeran-- supported VD Satheesan, and one remained neutral.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE updates: Former Kerala Congress chief VM Sudheeran said on Wednesday that he has told Rahul Gandhi that public opinion should be kept in while while picking chief minister of Kerala, for which several leaders are in the running, including VD Satheesan and KC Venugopal.

“I have told Rahul Gandhi that public opinion should be considered while selecting the Kerala chief minister,” Sudheeran said, speaking to PTI news agency.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE updates: Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Wednesday said that the Congress party has been overwhelmed with "confusion" amid the suspense over the chief minister for Kerala.

The results were announced on May 4 and Congress is yet to make an announcement on the CM post.

"...The Congress party is in complete confusion even after 9 days... Congress got a full majority in Keralam and yet there is confusion... I was even told that there will be five CMs in five years... Wherever there is CM, there is confusion. You can see the situation of Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh...", Poonawalla told ANI news agency, taking out binoculars to take a dig at the Congress.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE updates: A day after senior Congress leader KC Venugopal was backed by six of the nine party leaders who attended a Congress meeting on Tuesday on selecting the United Democratic Front (UDF) CM, posters warning Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were seen in latter's constituency Wayanad, warning them against going ahead with Venugopal for the chief minister's post.

While six people had backed Venugopal, two -- K Muralidharan and VM Sudheeran-- supported VD Satheesan, and one remained neutral on Tuesday.

Ramesh Chemmithala, Congress leader and MLA from Haripad, is the other contender for the post. While Venugopal has the backing of the majority of the elected Congress MLAs, Satheesan has wide support among the party rank and file and key allies like the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Kerala Congress (Joseph).

The posters appeared outside the district Congress committee office in Wayanad and Vadra’s MP office in Mukkam in Kozhikode. Vadra is the Congress MP from Wayanad while Gandhi served as the MP from the constituency between 2019 and 2024. One of the posters said, “Mr Rahul, KC might be your bag bearer, but people of Kerala will never forgive you.” Read full report here

Kerala CM announcement LIVE updates: Keralam Congress president Sunny Joseph said on Wednesday that the announcement of the next chief minister is expected later in the day as discussions within the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) near completion.

He said a slight delay is possible due to Sonia Gandhi's hospital visit.

Speaking to reporters, Joseph said party leaders and workers were waiting for the final decision from the Congress high command. "We expect the chief minister's name to be announced today. It is understood that all discussions have been completed. We are waiting for the announcement today. Sonia Gandhi was in the hospital, so there could be a slight delay because of that. The chief minister's name will be announced from Delhi," ANI news agency quoted Joseph as saying.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE: Posters were seen near Wayanad district Congress office warning Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of losing further polls if KC Venugopal is nominated for Kerala CM post.

KC Venugopal has emerged to be one of the frontrunners for the post of Kerala CM.

Floor test Tamil Nadu LIVE: Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday said that the TVK government in the state did not have the backing of a majority of voters and questioned its decision to seek the support of a section of AIADMK MLAs after previously attacking the party over corruption allegations.

“Do you know how many voted for the ruling party. Just 1.72 crore…the remaining approximately 3.21 crore people voted against your party and you must understand this,” he said.

Floor test Tamil Nadu LIVE updates: AIADMK MLA Edappadi K. Palaniswami said on Wednesday that the party has appointed Krishnamoorthy as the party whip, and the same was informed to all MLAs. However, a few former ministers who were elected as MLAs issued statements that amounted to betraying the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and violating political discipline. Even after being informed of our stand, they announced that they would support the ruling government. This is entirely against the law."

“This government was formed by luring some members with promises of ministerial posts and board appointments. Those members have now extended support to the resolutions brought by the chief Minister. AIADMK 47 MLAs who won in the assembly elections were elected under the “Two Leaves” symbol,” Palaniswami said.

Instead of remaining loyal to the party, they have betrayed it, he said, adding that their desire to become ministers has led them to act against the party leadership’s directives.

"This is against both the law and justice. Something unprecedented in the history of Tamil Nadu is happening now. It is disappointing that such developments are taking place within Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam right at the very beginning," he said.

Kerala CM announcement LIVE: Amid indications that the Congress high command could announce Kerala’s next chief minister at any moment, the IUML on Wednesday said it would reveal its position only after the grand old party takes a final call.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key ally of the Congress-led UDF, held a crucial leadership meeting at the residence of its supremo, Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, at Panakkad here.

"We are waiting for a decision from the Congress high command in Delhi in this regard," Kunhalikutty told reporters after the meeting, reported news agency PTI.

"The meeting discussed all related matters and authorised Thangal to take further decisions. We will take a call after the high command announces the chief minister," he added.

Floor test Tamil Nadu LIVE: Tamil Nadu govt revoked the appointment of Rickey Radhan Pandit Vetrivel as officer on special duty for chief minister Vijay, after his appointment was critcised in the assembly during trust vote.

Rickey Radhan Pandit Vetrivel's appointment as OSD to the Chief Minister (Political) was announced on Tuesday.

DMK ally Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam MLA Premalatha Vijaykanth raised questions over his appointment and said that CM could have appointed him as personal secretary instead of giving an government post.

Floor test Tamil Nadu LIVE: DMDK General Secretary and MLA Premalatha Vijayakanth says, "The people of Tamil Nadu condemn the appointment of Radhan Pandit on a senior post. This is condemnable."

Floor test Tamil Nadu LIVE: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay said that his government will certainly be 'secular' in governance and will not indulge in horse-trading but will function with the speed of a horse.

He said all the previous welfare schemes will be continued under his government.

Vijay made the remarks during his address after winning the trust vote in TN assembly.

Floor test Tamil Nadu LIVE: Tamil Nadu assembly speaker JCD Prabhakar said chief minister Vijay's trust vote resolution in the House was opposed by 22 MLAs, while five others took neutral stand.

Floor test Tamil Nadu LIVE updates: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLAs led by Udhayanidhi Stalin staged a walkout from the state assembly during floor test of TVK government.

Floor test Tamil Nadu LIVE updates: On newly sworn in Tamil Nadu chief minister Vijay's party TVK winning trust vote, Tamil Nadu speaker JCD Prabhakar said, "That day [result day] it won in people's forum, today it has won in this great forum (TN assembly) as well."