Kerala’s results produced an obvious CM. Why is Congress pretending otherwise?

May 9, 2026 | 17:48 IST

Congress has a historic mandate and and the architect behind it is evident. The only thing standing in the way of announcing the CM is the Congress and its old instincts of factionalism, seniority and high-command management

Kerala just delivered the United Democratic Front (UDF) its biggest mandate in a generation—102 seats, 13 Left Democratic Front (LDF) ministers defeated, CPM strongholds breached by the party’s own rebel veterans, and a seven-point swing in vote share. And yet the party that led this turnaround is publicly deliberating over whether the man who made it happen should lead the govt it produced.

This is not a small irony. It is a test of whether Congress has genuinely transformed, or whether the old instincts of faction, seniority and high-command management will reassert themselves the morning after a historic victory. How else do we understand the delay to state the obvious plainly?

TOI

TOI

Kerala’s results produced an obvious CM. Why is Congress pretending otherwise?

Congress has a historic mandate and and the architect behind it is evident. The only thing standing in the way of announcing the CM is the Congress and its old instincts of factionalism, seniority and high-command management

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TOI

Kerala’s results produced an obvious CM. Why is Congress pretending otherwise?

Congress has a historic mandate and and the architect behind it is evident. The only thing standing in the way of announcing the CM is the Congress and its old instincts of factionalism, seniority and high-command management

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