Congress MLAs to elect leader in Kerala tomorrow

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With the UDF securing a mandate to rule Kerala, the newly elected Congress MLAs will meet here tomorrow to decide the next chief minister.

Central party functionaries Mohsina Kidwai and Madhusudan Mistry would attend the meet as observers to elect the leader through a consensus, party sources said.

Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who led the UDF as the Opposition in the state assembly in the last five years, is the front-runner for the top post.

Indications from the Congress camp are that the new Chief Minister would take oath by Monday.

Since it is important for the coalition to strike an image of intra-party unity and cohesion, considering the thin majority it secured, it would be unwise for the coalition to delay the swearing in, Congress sources said.

The Chief Minister and leaders of the alliance parties would be sworn in initially and the cabinet would be expanded later after detailed discussions among the front partners.

Meanwhile, as a prelude to the ministry-formation process, the UDF components began internal discussions.

Congress leaders met in Kochi and took stock of the outcome which did not match their expectations.

In an important development, IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty and Kerala Congress leader K M Mani held a round of discussions. Both leaders later said they did not discuss the issue of cabinet berth or portfolio expected by them.