In the 140-member Assembly, the Congress has its best-ever tally of 63 seats within the UDF, which won a total of 102 seats. The camps of Opposition Leader V D Satheesan, former Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal have been making competing claims for the top post. While Satheesan and Chennithala were elected to the Assembly in this election, Lok Sabha member Venugopal did not contest. Satheesan has widely been seen as the natural choice due to his performance as Leader of the Opposition and his popularity among party workers, but Chennithala is staking his claim based on seniority. Venugopal, on the other hand, is relying on his strong connection with the Congress high command, particularly his proximity to Rahul Gandhi. A senior Congress leader said, “The high command can take a decision, either after hearing the elected party members, or even without that.…