Thiruvananthapuram, May 14 : Ten days after the results of the Assembly elections were announced, Congress is set to announce the new Chief Minister of Kerala on Thursday.

The Congress high command on Wednesday night finally signalled that the wait for the southern stateâ??s next Chief Minister was nearing an end.

The breakthrough indication came when Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh stepped out of Congress President Mallikarjuna Khargeâ??s residence in Delhi and announced that discussions authorised by the Congress Legislative Party had been completed and the new Chief Minister of Kerala would be declared on Thursday.

The statement, though brief, immediately sent waves across Kerala, where political uncertainty has steadily snowballed ever since the Congress-led UDF registered its emphatic victory by overthrowing the decade-old Left government led by Pinarayi Vijayan.

Behind the scenes, Wednesday witnessed hectic consultations involving Rahul Gandhi, Kharge and veteran Congress strategist A. K. Antony, as the leadership weighed the claims of the three principal contenders -- V. D. Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala, and K. C. Venugopal.

As Delhi deliberated, Kerala simmered.

The most politically charged location in the state on Wednesday was Satheesanâ??s residence at Aluva, where hundreds of supporters gathered from early morning and remained camped outside through the day, closely following every development from the national capital.

Television crews, slogan-shouting workers and constant speculation transformed the otherwise calm neighbourhood into a high-voltage political nerve centre.

At Chennithalaâ??s residence in the state capital, too, supporters anxiously waited for the final word, convinced that the veteran leaderâ??s experience and organisational acceptability still kept him firmly in contention.

Yet, perhaps the most intriguing silence through the day surrounded Venugopal.

The Congress General Secretary, Organisation, whose sudden emergence as a serious contender dramatically altered Keralaâ??s political equations and significantly prolonged the decision-making process, was conspicuously absent from the high-profile consultations involving Rahul Gandhi and Kharge.

While the rival camps remained visibly active, Venugopal stayed put at his Delhi residence, fuelling intense speculation over quiet backchannel discussions.

Meanwhile, another late-evening political development triggered fresh curiosity in Kerala. Senior Lok Sabha MP Kodikunnil Suresh was spotted visiting Antonyâ??s residence in Thiruvananthapuram, setting off another round of whispers over possible last-minute interventions.

Now, after ten days of extraordinary suspense, Kerala waits for the Congress high command to finally unveil the man who will become the stateâ??s 13th Chief Minister.

/IANS