Thiruvananthapuram (Keralam)

Following a high-stakes Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting in Keralam, Keralam Congress President Sunny Joseph on Friday said that the party high command would take the final decision on the Chief Ministerial face in the state.

Speaking to ANI, Joseph said he had given complete freedom to the party leadership regarding the selection of the Keralam Chief Ministerial face.

"The High Command will take a decision (on CM Face)... I have given total freedom to the High Command to select," he said.

Earlier, Congress leader K Muraleedharan also said that the party high command would take a final decision on the Keralam Chief Ministerial face after consultations with senior leaders of the state.

Commenting on the ongoing poster campaign, the Keralam Congress chief termed it unnecessary and advised party workers to refrain from such activities. "It is unnecessary... They should keep away from these kinds of canvassing," Joseph said.

Amid the Congress-led UDF's victory in the Kerala Assembly elections, posters targeting senior Congress leader KC Venugopal and MLA AP Anil Kumar have surfaced at several locations in the Wandoor constituency, triggering political discussions in the region. The posters, reportedly put up under the names "Pachappada" and "Janashabdam.

The appearance of the posters has sparked speculation over growing tensions within the Congress-led alliance, particularly in relation to the Congress-Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) dynamics in the region.

The UDF recorded a thumping victory in Keralam with securing 102 seats, including 63 by the Congress. The Congress is currently deliberating on the face for the Chief Ministerial post.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) observer Mukul Wasnik from Keralam said that all party MLAs passed a resolution authorising the Congress high command to decide the leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) during a meeting held after the Assembly election results.

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Wasnik said, "In Kerala, following a Congress Legislative Party meeting, all party MLAs discussed and approved a proposal authorising the Congress high command to select the leader of the legislative party. A detailed report will be submitted to the party leadership."

Meanwhile, LDF convenor TP Ramakrishnan on Thursday said that the alliance is yet to decide a name for the leader of opposition in the Keralam Assembly, and dismissed demands of a leadership change in the CPI(M) after the alliance lost the elections under outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.