A week after the Kerala Assembly election results were declared, the state is still waiting to know who its next chief minister will be. While the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) swept the polls with 102 seats, the political battle over who will lead the government has now triggered intense lobbying, internal disagreements and even protests on the streets within the grand old party.

According to an NDTV report citing sources, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is backing KC Venugopal for the chief minister’s post. The Alappuzha MP, who also serves as the Congress' general secretary (organisation), is believed to be leading the race.

The report said the Congress leadership is expected to spend the next two days trying to build consensus within the party in favour of Venugopal’s candidature.

Senior Congress leaders held a meeting at party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in Delhi, while Rahul Gandhi also reportedly met Venugopal separately.

At the same time, tensions within the Kerala Congress unit appear to have spilled out into the open. Posters targeting Venugopal surfaced in parts of the state, with reports claiming the campaign had the backing of senior Congress leader VD Satheesan.

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When Satheesan arrived for the Delhi meeting, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reportedly questioned him over the allegations. According to the report, Satheesan admitted he was opposed to Venugopal becoming chief minister.

As per sources cited by NDTV, Satheesan argued that Venugopal, because of his powerful organisational role in the Congress, had influenced MLAs and encouraged factionalism within the state unit. Satheesan reportedly maintained that during his tenure as Leader of Opposition, he worked to keep the party united instead of building camps for personal gain.

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Satheesan also reportedly told the party leadership that the Congress could have secured even more seats if candidates allegedly favoured by Venugopal had not been fielded in constituencies such as Nenmara, Kazhakootam, Wadakanchery, Nedumangad and Cherthala.

Satheesan, meanwhile, is believed to have the backing of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), one of the Congress’s key allies in Kerala.

In the 140-member Kerala Assembly, the Congress has won 63 seats, while the IUML secured 22. Kerala Congress (KEC) won eight seats and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) bagged three. Together, the UDF’s tally of 102 seats gives it a commanding more-than-two-thirds majority. The LDF won 35 seats in the election to the 140-member Assembly, while Kerala Congress (B) failed to win any seat.

Despite the internal power tussles, Venugopal is still considered the frontrunner in the chief ministerial race.