Delay in naming CM dims win: Joseph

T'puram: With uncertainty continuing over the selection of the next chief minister in the state, KPCC president Sunny Joseph on Tuesday acknowledged that the prolonged delay in finalising the Congress legislature party leader has begun to overshadow the UDF's emphatic victory in the assembly elections.Breaking the party's public silence on the issue, Joseph admitted that the continuing discussions over the chief minister post were affecting the celebratory mood within Congress-led UDF. "The shine of the victory is getting diminished," he remarked while expressing optimism that "white smoke will rise soon," signalling that the high command could arrive at a final decision shortly. The remarks come amid mounting pressure from UDF allies, who have conveyed strong displeasure over the Congress leadership's inability to announce a chief ministerial candidate even days after the alliance's return to power. Leaders of Indian Union Muslim League have already publicly criticised the delay while other coalition partners are understood to have communicated similar concerns to the state Congress leadership. The uncertainty has also triggered unease within the Congress organisation. Senior party leaders have reportedly informed AICC general secretary Deepa Dasmunshi that the delay by the party high command was creating serious political and organisational difficulties for the party in Kerala. The discontent has spilled onto the ground as well, with several newly elected Congress MLAs facing protests from party workers in their constituencies. Party sources said some legislators were blocked by workers while attending public functions in their home districts. Protests have also erupted against a section of MLAs over their perceived support for senior Congress leader K C Venugopal in the ongoing leadership tussle. With intense lobbying continuing among rival camps and allies growing increasingly restless, the Congress high command is under pressure to bring the leadership uncertainty to an end at the earliest.