All about KC Venugopal, the election strategist set to become Kerala CM

After the Congress-led UDF bagged a decisive majority in Kerala, Congress veteran K C Venugopal is ahead in the race to become the Kerala Chief Minister. According to India Today TV, Venugopal has the support of 52 out of 62 MLAs. 

Of the 99 seats won by the UDF, the Congress won 63, and the IUML bagged 22. 

Besides Venugopal, V D Satheesan and Ramesh Chennithala are also in the race. While Chennithala and Satheesan were elected from the Haripad and Paravoor seats with solid margins, Venugopal did not contest the polls. 

All three are the disciples of the late former Kerala CM and Congress veteran Karunakaran. 

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All you need to know about K C Venugopal

K C Venugopal is the Congress Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Alappuzha. Venugopal is a critical figure in the grand old party's central leadership as the General Secretary (Organisation) since 2019. Often described as the "right hand" of the party's leadership, K C Venugopal acts as the main link between the "High Command" (Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi) and several state units.

He plays a significant role in managing the election "war rooms" of the Congress party and selecting candidates. Due to his proximity to the top leadership, he is often considered a "consensus builder" who can help resolve internal crises. 

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Most internal party decisions run through his office, as he is responsible for supervising the completion of administrative tasks as well as managing and formally issuing the appointment of significant party positions. 

He also oversees organisational discipline and the national membership drives.

Previously, he has served as the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation (2012-2014) and the Union Minister of State for Power (2011-2012). He also served as the Cabinet Minister in Kerala for Tourism and Devaswom from 2004 to 2006. 

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His role in the Kerala elections

He played a significant role in ensuring the UDF's landslide victory by leading the "Indira Guarantee" campaign, extensive statewide outreach and overseeing a candidate selection process based on surveys and feedback. 

Learning from Haryana, Venugopal ensured organisational unity by pacifying dissent within the Congress. He prevented rebel candidates from contesting and implemented a three-tier monitoring system with national and state-level observers to address grassroots issues. 

Moreover, he coordinated alliance partners, mobilised national leaders and star campaigners. K C Venugopal engaged with community groups while helping bring dissatisfied CPI(M) leaders into the UDF. 

Intense scrutiny over Congress's defeat in Haryana

He, however, has faced intense scrutiny over the Congress party clutching defeat out of victory's jaws in the Haryana elections 2024. 

According to reports, his office struggled to manage the intense rivalry between Kumari Selja and Randeep Singh Surjewala. The central leadership was also accused of not intervening effectively to resolve the tussle between the two leaders. 

Congress also faced heat for over-reliance on former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda's inputs in candidate selection, effectively sidelining influential leaders and triggering the rise of independent rebels who became vote-cutters.