NEW DELHI: Congress is worried about the confrontational attitude of CPM in Kerala, which is voting on 26 April.
The Congress party has taken a significant decision before Kerala goes for election. As per sources, the party will field only one member of the Gandhi family from Uttar Pradesh, and that will be Rahul Gandhi. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will not contest the elections. But it has not yet been decided whether he will fight from Amethi or Rae Bareli. Rahul Gandhi is already contesting from the Wayanad seat in Kerala from where he is MP, for the second time.
Congress is being very cautious about the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala this time, the reason why the announcement on Rahul Gandhi’s second seat is being delayed.
The BJP is quite aggressively contesting elections in Kerala this time. The Left parties are worried that if the BJP gains a foothold in Kerala, they’ll be hit the hardest. To avoid weakening themselves, their plan is to undermine the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. To achieve this, they initially fielded Annie Raja against Rahul and then suggested that Rahul should contest from North India. Generally, the Congress alliance in Kerala always has an upper hand over the Left alliance in the Lok Sabha elections, but this time, the Kerala elections have become intriguing because it’s now a battle between Rahul and Kerala’s CPM Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. In fact, there’s speculation if the Left will remain in the I.N.D.I Alliance at all, in the future, given the evolving situation in the general elections.
The Congress had anticipated that the Left Front would adopt a confrontational stance towards it this time around, by making Rahul’s candidacy from Kerala an issue. Their suspicions were confirmed as the Left parties launched a rhetorical assault against Rahul Gandhi. As the election approaches, both sides have intensified their accusations against each other. CM Pinarayi Vijayan has resorted to personal attacks on Rahul, having previously questioned the latter’s decision to contest from Wayanad. Now, Vijayan has accused Rahul of supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act.
The approach Congress is taking in Kerala elections is surprising. To secure Rahul’s Wayanad seat, Congress had to compromise with parties like the Muslim League, even conceding a Rajya Sabha seat to them. In a strange move, neither Congress nor Muslim League flags were raised at Rahul’s rally, indicating the pressure Congress was under.
Observing the situation, Congress refrained from announcing candidates for seats like Rae Bareli and Amethi. The concern was to avoid any controversy in Wayanad. Post the Kerala vote, Congress will decide on candidates for Rae Bareli and Amethi. The party is cautious about the siblings contesting together; hence it’s likely only Rahul will run. Preparations have begun in Amethi for this. Nominations open on 26 April, closing on 3 May, with voting in Amethi and Rae Bareli scheduled for 20 May, the fifth phase. Kerala votes on 26 April.