The jockeying for Congress’s Chief Minister’s post seemed barely below the surface on Friday.

Hoardings and marches in support of Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation), K.C. Venugopal, MP, and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala, touted by their respective supporters as the ideal picks to lead the prospective United Democratic Front (UDF) government, continued to proliferate across urban centres in the State, the high command’s repeated remonstrations against public displays of factional loyalty not withstanding.

For one, vying posters vouching for different Chief Minister probables swarmed the surroundings of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s (KPCC) headquarters at Indira Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of the AICC settling the nagging leadership question in Delhi, possibly on Sunday. A comparable pattern of poster campaigning was seen in the vicinity of district congress committee offices across the State.

Competing rallies

The three-way leadership tussle spilt onto the streets across Kerala, manifesting as competing rallies by Congress workers professing their respective factional loyalties.

In Thiruvananthapuram, scores of people marched behind a banner emblazoned with Mr. Satheesan’s visage from the Martyr’s Square in Palayam to the Government Secretariat. “Secular Kerala is with V.D. Satheesan”, the banner read.

At one point, the march seemed to veer into violence, with some workers tearing down posters which announced Mr. Venugopal as Kerala’s next Chief Minister. Similar marches were held in Thrissur, Perumbavoor in Ernakulam, Idukki, Kozhikode, and Malappuram.

Meanwhile, powerful behind-the-scenes figures, including leaders of the Nair Service Society (NSS) and the SNDP Yogam, sought to wade into the leadership tussle, subtly conveying their views to the public through impromptu media interactions.

Opinion leaders and writers also weighed in on the question of UDF’s optimal leadership choice. Noted writer T. Padmanabhan threw in his lot with Mr. Venugopal. “I am close to several Congress leaders, but my closest relationship is with Mr. Venugopal,” he said.

In contrast, actor Siddique batted for Mr. Satheesan and literary critic V. Rajakrishnan batted for Mr Satheesan. “It was V.D. Satheesan who single-handedly fought and resurrected the Congress party after its dismal performance in 2021. He has a natural claim to the CM post,” Mr. Rajakrishnan wrote on Facebook.

The power struggle convulsing the Congress in Kerala appeared to have unnerved the State and national leadership. KPCC president Sunny Joseph, MLA, hastily called off a press conference he had announced on Thursday.

Mr. Satheesan sought to douse the “discord” plaguing the party at the critical juncture of government formation. He urged Congress and UDF workers to refrain from group demonstrations and public declarations of loyalty.