VD Satheesan and Shehzad Poonawala (Image/PTI)

New Delhi: A few hours later Congress VD Satheesan declared the next Chief Minister of Kerala BJP Launching a scathing attack on the party, it alleged that the decision was influenced by the Indian Union Muslim League and accused the Congress of surrendering to its alliance partner.Soon after the announcement, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla shared a post targeting the Congress leadership and the new Kerala government.Poonawala wrote on Twitter, “The people’s mandate and the MLA’s election have gone in vain.”“The new Chief Minister of Kerala will be remotely controlled by the IUML. The high command is the Jamaat. The Jamaat and IUML put pressure on the Congress and he was selected as the Chief Minister,” he alleged.The Kerala unit of the BJP also stepped up its criticism, targeting both the Congress and the IUML leadership.In another post shared by BJP Kerala quoting senior leader MT Ramesh, the party claimed: “It has been proved once again that the lackeys of the Congress high command are the Muslim League and Ponnani. In deciding the Chief Minister, the Congress high command surrendered to the League leadership.”The Kerala unit of the BJP further alleged that the Congress leadership had no option but to bow before the IUML due to its political dependence in the state.BJP Kerala handle posted, “11 days after Keralam election results were declared on May 4, Congress has finally declared VD Satheesan as the next CM of Keralam.”“Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi know that the Congress cannot survive in Keralam or protect Wayanad without the Indian Union Muslim League. Satheesan becoming CM is a clear sign that the Congress and the Gandhi family have finally bowed to the IUML,” the post said.The BJP also circulated several memes through its official social media pages. In one such picture, IUML state president Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal was shown sitting at the centre, while Rahul Gandhi and Kharge were shown bowing before him and Satheesan was shown fanning him.The post was widely circulated with the hashtag ‘CongressPoliticsofAppealation’.