Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
As the I.N.D.I.A parties gear up for the seat-sharing discussions for the Lok Sabha polls, the CPM and CPI are keenly awaiting whether Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad in Kerala again.
The Left parties, which are now in power in Kerala only, are of the view that Rahul contesting from Wayanad again will weaken I.N.D.I.A's joint fight against the BJP at the national level.
Even as there is a general consensus among the parties in I.N.D.I.A that the contests among the parties in the alliance at the regional level shall continue, a Congress national leader entering the fray in Kerala where the direct fight is between the Congress-IUML alliance and the CPM-CPI alliance will not go down well with the latter.
A senior CPM leader told DH that it was a political mistake committed by the Congress to field Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad for the Lok Sabha poll.
"In Lok Sabha polls, the direct contest of the opposition front which includes the Congress, CPM and CPI is against the BJP. Hence Congress's top national leader contesting from Wayanad where BJP is very insignificant and CPM-CPI alliance is the main opponent had sent a strong message about the joint fight of the opposition parties against the BJP. Hope the Congress will realise it," said the leader who preferred not to be quoted.
"Had Rahul Gandhi contested from neighbouring Tamil Nadu last time, the CPM leaders would not have any issue in campaigning for him," he added.
Even as CPM politburo member from Kerala M A Baby preferred to reserve his comments on the matter now, he said that the Congress would hopefully realise the importance of the coming elections and act accordingly to ensure BJP's defeat.
AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal did not give specific replies to questions of reporters on Sunday on whether Rahul will contest from Wayanad again. He said that a joint fight of Congress and CPM-CPI in Kerala was not practical.
The CPM Kerala leadership had strongly objected to Rahul's decision to contest from Wayanad in 2019. The Congress-led United Democratic Front literally swept Kerala by winning 19 of the 20 seats in 2019. Rahul had a thumping victory with a margin of over four lakh votes.