Intense lobbying and jockeying have begun in the Congress for the chief ministerial post for the ensuing Kerala assembly polls, which are barely less than a year away.

A section of the Congress thinks K C Venugopal, currently Lok Sabha MP from Alappuzha, is a frontrunner for the coveted post. KCV, as he is popularly addressed, is AICC general secretary in charge of the party organisation and considered to be close to Rahul Gandhi. However, Venugopal’s candidature and ambition are facing a stiff challenge from veteran Ramesh Chennithala, leader of the opposition in the Kerala assembly, V D Satheeshan, state party president, K Sudhakaran, and former union minister Shashi Tharoor, who is a member of Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram.

Congress’s regional satraps have reportedly been closing ranks and working on a strategy to block Venugopal. As part of a game plan, UDF allies such as the Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress, RSP, CMP and KDP have begun putting pressure on the Congress to sort out its leadership issue. Informed sources said when AICC general secretary Deepa Dasmunshi met........

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