The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) hopes to duplicate its sweep of the State in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by persuading incumbent Rahul Gandhi to contest again from the Wayanad parliamentary constituency.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the KPCC and United Democratic Front (UDF) allies, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), made a strong pitch for Mr. Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad.
In 2019, the late Oommen Chandy and a senior Congress leader engineered a political coup by persuading the national leadership to field Mr. Gandhi from Wayanad. Mr Gandhi’s high-profile presence in Wayanad arguably helped the UDF bag 19 of the 20 seats in Kerala.
The Congress dealt the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] an ignominious defeat by confining it to a single seat in Alappuzha.
CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan told reporters on Wednesday that the Rahul Gandhi factor in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls was water under the bridge. “Nobody believes today that Mr. Gandhi has a credible chance of becoming the country’s Prime Minister.”
Communist Party of India State Secretary Binoy Viswam weighed in on the issue on Wednesday. He stated that if the Congress fancied the Bharatiya Janata Party as the main adversary, it should field Mr. Gandhi in the Sangh Parivar’s Hindi heartland in Uttar Pradesh.
He said the BJP’s electoral prospects in Kerala were zero. Hence, it made no sense for Mr. Gandhi to abandon the larger battle in the Hindi heartlands to skirmish with an INDIA bloc ally in Kerala.
Mr. Viswam said the Congress gave a whip hand to the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by fielding Mr. Gandhi in Wayanad. “The BJP portrayed it as cowardice and electorally benefitted from the propaganda. The Congress should show some political wisdom by not repeating the strategic mistake,” Mr Viswam said.
Mr. Satheesan dismissed the LDF’s argument. He said the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party were allies in New Delhi and opponents in Punjab. Similarly, the CPI(M) and the Congress were allies in Tamil Nadu and adversaries in Kerala.
“The CPI(M) election posters in Tamil Nadu featured Mr. Gandhi’s picture. The LDF should support Mr. Gandhi’s candidature instead of crying hoarse about it,” Mr. Satheesan said.
Other Pradesh Congress Committees in the South, including Telangana, have invited Mr. Gandhi to contest from their States. The AICC will likely take a final call on the matter.
