Chandy set to be Kerala CM

Even as central party observers began meeting party legislators individually in Kerala on Monday ahead of the Congress legislature party meet to elect the new chief minister in place of AK Antony, the United Democratic Front (UDF) convener Oommen Chandy appears to have emerged as the front-runner for the post with his clean image and solid backing from a majority of party MLAs and front partners.

In the House of 140, the UDF enjoys the support of over 100 MLAs.

With Ahamed Patel, Congress general secretary, making it clear that the final decision on leadership would be taken by the MLAs and not from Delhi, Chandy's name obviously comes first on the list as he has the backing of the Antony loyalists in the CLP, as well as a section in the "I" group loyal to K Karunakaran.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel and Margaret Alva, general secretary, are meeting the MLAs as part of efforts to arrive at a consensus before the CLP to be held tonight.

The chances of someone outside the CLP being chosen as the chief minister had already been ruled out as the high command is well aware of the consequences of a by-election gamble at this juncture, when the government's image is at its lowest ebb. On his arrival, Mukherjee had said "the new leader would be chosen through a process of consultation."

The central observers' team will also meet senior state party leaders, KPCC office-bearers and leaders of the UDF constituents before the CLP meet.

As the "I" group has no name to suggest for the top post, Karunakaran supporters are likely to lean towards Chandy, turning the race for the hot seat into a limited battle. Though Karunakaran yesterday gave a hint about a "soft" approach towards Speaker Vakkom Purushothaman, saying the latter could always ask the high command to consider his name, Purushothaman's name is unlikely to have many takers in the "I" group itself.

Meanwhile, the Kerala BJP said the resignation of Antony "is of no use" in the present circumstances and the UDF government should seek a fresh mandate as it had "failed on all fronts during its three-year rule".

"The state is witnessing rampant corruption and communalisation inspite of having a government with an absolute majority. Therefore, the entire Cabinet should resign and seek a fresh mandate," Kerala BJP chief PS Sreedharan Pillai said.