Kerala Congress Unanimously Authorises High Command to Decide CLP Leader

"On May 4, the election results were announced, and on May 5, immediately after that, both of us were instructed to go along with our General Secretary in charge, Deepa Dasmunshi. On May 7, we had a meeting of CLP. And today we have submitted our report to the leadership of the Congress president," Maken said.

He further said, "Resolution has been passed, a one-line resolution has been passed by the entire CLP unanimously authorising the Congress leadership to select the CLP leader. And that resolution, a copy of that resolution, has also been handed over."

Maken added that the observers also held one-to-one discussions with MLAs and recorded their views for the party leadership.

"After that, we held one-to-one discussions with individual MLAs and whatever they said, we noted it down. It is not only the names, but many people had many things to say. We have noted it down, and we have submitted it to the high command," he said.

Reacting to a viral photograph allegedly showing a paper carried by Congress leader Mukul Wasnik naming MLAs and suggesting it as a list for the next Chief Minister of Kerala, Wasnik dismissed the claims, saying the report was not based on facts.

"I've seen it, and that is not reflecting the position. It is incorrect, it is not based on facts," Wasnik said.

Ajay Maken & Mukul Wasnik are appointed as Keralam Congress observers.

The United Democratic Front (UDF) emerged victorious in Kerala Assembly elections after comfortably crossing the majority mark of 71 seats in the 140-member House, a verdict widely seen as a decisive rejection of the decade-long rule of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and signals a major comeback for the Congress-led coalition.

As per the latest trends, the Indian National Congress (INC) alone won 63 out of the total 140 Assembly seats, accounting for a major portion of the UDF's victory.

Although anti-incumbency against the 10-year-old LDF government was widely expected, the scale of the UDF's lead has still drawn attention.

In the 2016 Keralam Assembly elections, the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by Pinarayi Vijayan of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), secured a clear victory with 91 seats, including 58 won by the CPI(M) and 19 by the Communist Party of India. The United Democratic Front (UDF), led by the Indian National Congress, managed 47 seats, with Congress winning 22 and the Indian Union Muslim League taking 18. The Bharatiya Janata Party opened its account in the state with one seat.

- ANI