‘Why is BJP so interested?’ Priyank Kharge on delay by UDF in announcing name of Keralam CM

BENGALURU: Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday shot down questions from BJP on the delay in the naming of the Keralam Chief Minister as the deadlock continues following the United Democratic Front’s sweeping victory in the assembly elections, over a week ago, calling the alliance’s “internal matter.”

He slammed the BJP for raising questions on the matter, pointing that the party took “a month to make a CM in Karnataka”. “Why is BJP so interested in it? They took more than a month to make a CM in Karnataka. It is our internal matter”, Kharge said.

#WATCH | Bengaluru | On Congress yet to announce Keralam CM face, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge says, “Why is BJP so interested in it? They took more than a month to make a CM in Karnataka. It is our internal matter.” pic.twitter.com/iCfaSoICO0

— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2026

This comes after BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took a jibe at the Congress party, which he said seemed to have a plan “to give five Chief Ministers to the State in five years.”

A week after the Congress-led UDF’s sweeping victory in the 2026 Kerala Assembly election, Poonawalla highlighted that Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra seems to be pushing forward the name of V D Satheesan, the MLA from Paravur Assembly constituency, while Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is naming K C Venugopal, currently a Lok Sabha MP from Alappuzha.

“In Keralam, the Congress has got a full majority. Even after so many days, the Congress party has not been able to decide who will be the Chief Minister. It is being said that under pressure from the Jamaat, Priyanka Vadra is pushing forward the name of VD Satheesan, while Rahul Gandhi is pushing forward the name of KC Venugopal. Some people are bringing forward Ramesh Chennithala. Some people want to make Shashi Tharoor the Chief Minister. It seems the Congress party has made a plan to give five Chief Ministers in five years,” he said.

In another dig at Congress, Poonawalla said that the party will usher in a “model of instability” in Keralam, like it did in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and previously in Punjab and Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, the meeting to elect the next Keralam Chief Minister, with Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and former Keralam Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs, began on Tuesday. Keralam Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, and senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala are seen among the top contenders for the Chief Minister post.

Former KPCC presidents Mullappally Ramachandran, MM Hassan, K Sudhakaran, VM Sudheeran, K Muraleedharan, A P Anilkumar, PC Vishnunath and Shafi Parambil have arrived in New Delhi to meet Congress top leadership to finalise the next CM of the state.

Notably, following the Karnataka Assembly elections in 2023, Siddaramaiah was named Chief Minister and DK Shivakumar as Deputy CM after intense consultations that lasted 5 days following Congress’ landslide victory. (ANI)