Rahul Gandhi to contest from Wayanad again

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the assembly elections to five states which are considered as the semifinals to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls now coming to an end, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is focussing on his Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.

Rahul who arrived in Kozhikode on Wednesday after a hectic election campaign in the five states is spending three days in his constituency taking part in seminars, inauguration of panchayat-level development projects, and social and political gatherings. The Congress leader's visit is considered crucial by the Kerala PCC in view of the warm public response to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's novel idea of taking his cabinet to the people as part of the government’s outreach programme the Nava Kerala Sadas.

 Vijayan and his 20 Cabinet colleagues are on a tour of 140 assembly constituencies in a luxury bus. The campaign which began on November 18 and is scheduled to conclude in Thiruvananthapuram on December 23, is seen as the  LDF’s major exercise ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The CPM which faced a near rout in 2019 Lok Sabha polls managing to win just one seat of the 20 in Kerala, is desperate to improve its position. Even though the CPM is part of the grand India alliance at the Centre, the Marxists want to improve their independent strength in the Parliament to have a better say in national politics.

Electoral decimation in West Bengal , Tripura

With the CPM being electorally decimated in West Bengal with no representation in the 294-member state assembly and no Lok Sabha MP and Tripura inconsequential with just two LS seats, the Marxists' only hope is in Kerala. The CPM came to power in West Bengal last in 2006 winning 176 of the 294 seats. But the downfall from there has been massive. In 2021 assembly polls its vote share came to as low as 3 per cent which makes any immediate revival of the party in Bengal near impossible.

Similarly in Lok Sabha polls in 2004, West Bengal gave 26 seats and Kerala 12 seats with the CPM tally in Parliament going up to 43. In 2019 the CPM tally was reduced to just 3 including two seats in Tamil Nadu won because of the DMK alliance.

The ongoing Nava Kerala Sadas is seen in political circles as an attempt to woo the voters ahead of the 2024 polls. With the lacklustre Kerala PCC leadership unable to set a narrative to counter the Pinarayi Vijayan-led blitzkrieg, the only hope of the Congressmen is Rahul Gandhi who commands huge popularity in Kerala which was also evident during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. That Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad again appears to be almost certain.

This was also hinted by AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala Tariq Anwar on Tuesday. “There is no reason why Rahul should not contest again from Wayanad,” he told a regional channel. His statement assumes significance in the backdrop of reports that Rahul wants to contest Amethi in 2024.

While speaking at a function in Kozhikode on Wednesday, Rahul himself described his relationship with the people of Wayanad as that of a family. "Whenever I come to Wayanad I never feel that I am on an official assignment. I always have the feeling that I am returning to my home," he said amid thunderous applause.

It is this special relationship of Rahul with Kerala in general and Wayanad in particular, that the PCC leaders want to cash in on yet again in 2024. The political strategists believe that if Rahul emerges as a potential PM candidate to challenge the charismatic Narendra Modi, then there is a possibility of a massive consolidation in favour of the Congress-led UDF in Kerala.

The LDF leadership is not aloof to this possibility. In fact, the CPI which contests from Wayanad had even suggested that Rahul look for some constituency in the North of Vindhyas.

But with Rahul now spending more time in Wayanad and striking a personal chord with the people, it is now almost certain that he will fight the next electoral battle from the land of legendary Pazhassi Raja. But the big question is whether there will be a change in strategy if Congress wins the majority of the states that went to polls. Well, the picture will be clear on December 3.