More than a week after the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) swept back to power in Kerala with a commanding majority, the party on Tuesday remained locked in intense internal consultations over who will become the state’s next Chief Minister, with the final decision now widely seen as resting with Rahul Gandhi.Sources said it’s very likely that the CM face would be announced on Wednesday.Amid growing suspense, Rahul on Tuesday met former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs and senior state leaders in New Delhi to break the deadlock over the chief ministerial choice. The discussions came at a politically sensitive moment for the Congress, with competing camps within the Kerala unit intensifying lobbying efforts behind the scenes.Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal has emerged as the strongest contender after reportedly receiving backing from at least seven of the 10 senior leaders who attended the consultations. VD Satheesan, who was also Kerala Leader of Opposition, is learnt to have secured support from two leaders, while one leader remained neutral.Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who was initially seen as a major claimant for the post, is now being viewed more as a fallback consensus option should factional divisions within the party sharpen further.Those present at the meeting included former KPCC chiefs Mullappally Ramachandran, MM Hassan, K Sudhakaran, VM Sudheeran, K Muraleedharan, AP Anilkumar, PC Vishnunath and Shafi Parambil.Sources said Rahul expressed concern over public displays of strength, roadshows and open lobbying by rival camps in Kerala, signalling the leadership’s discomfort with attempts to build pressure before the high command formally arrives at a decision.While Venugopal appears to enjoy the upper hand, the Congress leadership is simultaneously grappling with a larger organisational question, whether the party can afford to move one of Rahul’s closest political aides out of Delhi at a crucial national juncture.Venugopal has increasingly become the Congress leadership’s key organisational troubleshooter, both inside Parliament and within the party structure. His role is expected to become even more significant as the Congress prepares its national strategy for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.Party insiders said appointing Venugopal as Kerala CM is also being viewed as an opportunity to strengthen the Congress’ southern political axis at a time when the party sees Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala as central to its national revival plans against the BJP.Within sections of the Congress, Chennithala continues to be viewed as an experienced and relatively “safe” administrative option capable of bridging factional fault lines if the contest between Venugopal and Satheesan becomes more contentious.Satheesan, despite retaining considerable support among party workers and sections of the alliance, is believed to have faced resistance from the central leadership over aggressive public messaging by some supporters projecting him as the natural frontrunner even before consultations concluded.The Congress has also moved to contain unease within the alliance after the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key UDF ally, publicly backed Satheesan for the top post. Sources said the Congress leadership conveyed to the IUML that while alliance partners’ concerns and power-sharing expectations would be accommodated, the selection of the Chief Minister remained entirely the Congress party’s prerogative.A senior party source said the message to allies was clear, the Congress leadership would ensure a fair political arrangement irrespective of who ultimately becomes Chief Minister.Kerala Congress chief Jattvibeny Joseph on Tuesday indicated that a decision could come soon, saying “white smoke can be expected shortly”. Rahul after meeting party members from Kerala also met Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday evening and held a long discussion.The UDF secured a decisive mandate in the 140-member Kerala Assembly, winning 102 seats. The Congress alone won 63 seats, while the IUML secured 22 seats, Kerala Congress eight and the Revolutionary Socialist Party three.