Congress Announces Candidates for Kerala, Rahul to Contest from Wayanad

The Congress decision to field Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad again will certainly give a boost to the UDF in the coming elections. However, it is too early to say whether his presence would result in a landslide for the UDF as was witnessed in the 2019 elections when the Congress-led front won 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats.

Interestingly, election surveys in the past have shown that Kerala is one state where Rahul Gandhi is way ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi when it comes to people’s choice for the top post. Notwithstanding the criticism against him, the former Congress president has maintained a strong bond with the people of Wayanad who he considers as his family.

The Left, on the other hand, will be unhappy with the Congress decision as the CPI had already expressed its views against his candidature. CPI Kerala state secretary Benoy Viswam had questioned the logic behind fielding Rahul from Kerala where the main fight is with the Left which is part of the India alliance.

The CPI wanted him to contest from a state where the main rival is the BJP, to send a strong message across the nation.

Rahul who won the Wayanad seat by a margin of over 4 lakh votes in 2019, is pitted against Annie Raja of the CPI this time. The BJP is yet to declare its candidate.

However, political observers say that if the India alliance emerges as a major contender to the BJP-led NDA in the runup to the polls, it would enhance the vote-catching value of Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress has added strength to its list by including AICC General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal from the Alappuzha constituency. Alappuzha was the only seat won by the CPM in 2019 when its candidate A M Ariff’s victory came as a consolation for the ruling front.

Meanwhile, In a strategic move, former chief minister K Karunakaran's son and sitting MP from Vadakara K Muraleedharan has been shifted to Thrissur constituency where the sitting MP T N Prathapan was set to contest this time as well.

The change of candidate was reportedly necessitated by Karuanakaran’s daughter Padmaja Venugopal’s entry into the BJP the other day. The party fears that Padmaja could make a dent into the traditional vote bank of Congress, especially among the supporters of late Karunakaran. It feels that Muraleedharan could checkmate any possibility of a shift in the Congress vote bank.

The Congress candidate in Thrissur is locked in a tight triangular contest with ruling LDF’s V S Sunil Kumar who is a former minister and Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi of the BJP. The Congress had already launched a campaign for T N Prathapan and also painted the constituency with graffiti seeking votes for him.

However, with the party leadership pulling him out of the contest, the party workers will have to start the campaign afresh. Prathapan is expected to be given a ticket in the assembly elections to be held in 2026.

Former Youth Congress president Shafi Parampil who is a sitting MLA from Palakkad, will now take on the former minister and CPM heavyweight K K Shailaja from Vadakara seat. Congress star candidate Shashi Tharoor will take on Rajeev Chandrashekhar, a first timer, in the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency.

The LDF has fielded veteran leader Pannyan Raveendran of the CPI from the constituency.

Congress list of candidates

Kasargod - Rajmohan Unnithan

Kannur - K Sudhakaran

Vadakara - Shafi Parambil

Wayanad - Rahul Gandhi

Kozhikode - M K Raghavan

Palakkad - V K Sreekandan

Alathur - Ramya Haridas

Thrissur - K Muraleedharan

Chalakudy - Benny Behanan

Ernakulam - Hibi Eden

Idukki - Dean Kuriakose

Alappuzha - K C Venugopal

Mavelikkara - Kodikunnil Suresh

Pathanamthitta - Anto Antony

Attingal - Adoor Prakash

Thiruvananthapuram - Shashi Tharoor