Kerala polls: Celebrations won't influence CM pick, says Jebi Mather

Congress MP Jebi Mather hails UDF's win in Kerala, stating celebrations won't influence the CM choice. She said leadership decisions are independent of posters. UDF won 102 seats, ending LDF rule. VD Satheesan is a CM frontrunner.

Congress MP Jebi Mather on Thursday hailed the Congress-led UDF's emphatic victory in the Keralam Assembly elections, saying the celebrations by party workers reflected public enthusiasm but would not influence leadership decisions regarding the Chief Ministerial candidate.

Speaking to ANI here, Jebi Mather said the Congress leadership would take decisions independently despite visible support for various leaders through posters and banners across the state. "This is a big victory which is being celebrated in many different ways... Congress leadership, however, will not make decisions based on the number of posters or banners -- the celebrations remain the workers' own expression..." the Congress MP said.

UDF Begins Government Formation

Her remarks came as the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) began the process of government formation after securing a sweeping victory in the Keralam Assembly elections. The UDF won 102 seats in the 140-member Assembly, ending a decade-long rule of the Left Democratic Front (LDF). Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the alliance with 63 seats, while its ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), secured 22 seats.

Frontrunners for CM Post

Meanwhile, Congress MLA-elect VD Satheesan held a roadshow in his Peravur constituency on Wednesday following his victory in the polls. Satheesan won the seat with 78,658 votes, defeating CPI(M) candidate ET Taison Master by a margin of 20,600 votes. He is being viewed as one of the frontrunners for the Chief Minister's post alongside senior Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Ramesh Chennithala.

The Keralam Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) is scheduled to hold its first Legislative Party meeting of newly elected MLAs on Thursday in Thiruvananthapuram. Senior AICC observers Ajay Maken and Mukul Wasnik are expected to attend the meeting where discussions regarding the Chief Ministerial face are likely to take place.

Mather on West Bengal Violence

On the killing of the personal assistant of West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, Jebi Mather condemned the violence and said such incidents were against the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. "Bloodshed and violence are not solutions. This is not the ideology that Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, taught. Whatever the situation, it is deeply unfortunate. The family must get justice," she said.

The remarks came amid political tensions in West Bengal following the killing of Adhikari's personal assistant, which BJP leaders termed a "pre-planned murder," while the Trinamool Congress demanded a CBI probe into the incident. (ANI)

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