Rahul Gandhi to fight second seat in South: Kerala’s Wayanad

New Delhi: The Congress announced on Sunday that its president Rahul Gandhi would contest from Wayanad in Kerala in addition to the family pocket borough of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, triggering protests from both the Left parties and right-wing elements. The decision also signals that the section of the Congress which wants to strengthen the organisation has prevailed over leaders who wanted to prioritise the ousting of the BJP by forming strategic alliances in various states.

While the CPI(M) and CPI accused the Congress of fighting the Left instead of fighting the BJP, the latter claimed the Congress chief was “running away” from Amethi as he was not confident of winning in the seat that has traditionally been a Congress bastion.

Congress sources, however, said the decision was taken due to the South’s importance in rejuvenating the party. While this is the first time Mr Gandhi is contesting from a second seat in South, his mother Sonia Gandhi had in her first election trounced Sushma Swaraj in Karnataka’s Bellary in 1999, in addition to fighting from Amethi. Parallels were also drawn with his grandmother Indira Gandhi, who had contested from both Rae Bareli and Medak (now in Telangana) in 1980, which was seen by many as her comeback election.

Though speculation had been rife on Mr Gandhi standing from an extra constituency in the South, the decision was finalised only late Saturday evening after the Congress president met his mother Sonia Gandhi. Sources said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had always been in favour of an additional South seat. She is also expected to campaign for her brother in Wayanad.

After the decision, an urgent missive was sent to AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, who was in Mumbai and due to fly to Bengaluru. Mr Venugopal is then learnt to have conveyed the decision to the Kerala leaders, led by A.K. Antony, who were at the press conference in New Delhi on Sunday.

Kerala has 20 Lok Sabha seats, while Tamil Nadu has 39 and Karnataka 28 seats. The Congress won eight Lok Sabha seats in Kerala in 2014, besides two won by its ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), one by Kerala Congress (Mani) and one by the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).

“This is a message to the southern states that they are deeply valued and respected. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has said he will represent Amethi but will also represent southern states as they are an important part of India’s way of life,” the party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

The state units of three states — Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka — had requested the Congress president to contest from their turf. While Tamil Nadu had proposed Kanyakumari and Sivaganga, Karnataka had proposed Bidar and Kerala Wayanad.

The Congress leadership said the Wayanad decision was taken as it fell into the tri-junction of all three states. As soon as Mr Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad was announced, the Left parties lashed out. CPI(M) politburo member and former general secretary Prakash Karat said the Congress’ decision to field Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad shows that the party wants to take on the Left in Kerala. “Their priority now is to fight against the Left in Kerala. It goes against the Congress’ national commitment to fight the BJP, as in Kerala it’s LDF that is the main force fighting BJP there,” he told reporters.

The CPI, which has fielded P.P. Suneer as part of the Left alliance, also attacked the Congress chief for the move to contest from Wayanad. “By choosing a constituency in Kerala for Rahul Gandhi, what message is the Congress conveying to the country? Who is their enemy in this election? We all are saying the primary objective is to defeat the communal, fascist BJP in the Lok Sabha election,” CPI national secretary D. Raja said.