New Delhi: The Congress formally announced that party president Rahul Gandhi would contest from Wayanad in Kerala in addition to the family pocket borough of Amethi, drawing intense criticism from the Left.
The CPM and the CPI accused the Congress of fighting the Left instead of the BJP.
CPM politburo member Prakash Karat said told reporters: “Their priority now is to fight against the Left in Kerala. It goes against Congress’ national commitment to fight the BJP, as in Kerala it’s the LDF which is the main force fighting the BJP there.” The party will oppose the move, he added.
“To pick a candidate like Rahul Gandhi against the Left means that the Congress is going to target the Left in Kerala. This is something which we will strongly oppose and in this election, we will work to ensure the defeat of Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad,” Mr Karat said.
The CPI has fielded Mr P.P. Suneer from Wayanad as part of the Left alliance. CPI secretary D. Raja criticised the move, saying it “made no sense”. He said, “I don’t understand what politics the Congress is playing here. here is no BJP to fight in Kerala, it is the Left versus the Congress-led UDF.”
BJP chief Amit Shah also took a sharp dig at Mr Gandhi contesting from two seats. “Congress' votebank politics has worked on playing with the security of the country.”
BJP chief Amit Shah also took a sharp dig at Mr Gandhi contesting from two seats, at a rally in Uttar Pradesh. "Congress' votebank politics has worked on playing with the security of the country. It is the result of this that Rahul Gandhi has left Amethi and run away to Kerala because he knows that voters will seek account from him in Amethi this time,” he said.
Congress sources said that the decision was taken keeping the importance of the South in the party’s rejuvenation. While this is the first time that Mr Gandhi is contesting from a second seat, and also the first time he is contesting from the south, his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in her first election had trounced Union minister Sushma Swaraj in Karnataka’s Ballari in 1999 in addition to fighting from Amethi. Parallels were also drawn with his grandmother Indira Gandhi who had contested from Raebareli and Medak — currently in Telangana — in 1980.
Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.
