A suggestion made during internal discussions at the recent national executive meeting of INDIA bloc member CPI that senior leader Rahul Gandhi not seek re-election from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 has annoyed the Congress, especially its Kerala unit.
CPI Rajya Sabha MP P. Sandosh Kumar’s reported remarks from September 19 that Mr. Gandhi’s return to Wayanad could be taken as a sign of weakness, given the changed political situation in the country from 2019, found few takers in the Congress.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal dismissed the suggestion, saying it is the prerogative of the party’s Central Election Committee to decide on candidature and “no one else needs to have an opinion on this”. State Congress chief K. Sudhakaran called the suggestion “unfair”, insisting that the Kerala unit wants Mr. Gandhi to contest again from Wayanad.
Kerala’s unique political situation, with INDIA allies Congress and the Left parties engaged in a direct fight with the BJP’s presence nominal, precludes the necessity of a seat-sharing arrangement in the State.
Mr. Kumar, according to sources, had reasoned that Mr. Gandhi was no ordinary candidate and many looked up to him, especially after the support he garnered during the 4,000-km-long Bharat Jodo Yatra, as the natural leader of the alliance. Instead of Wayanad, he should contest from one of the Hindi-speaking States and take the BJP head-on, he had suggested.
The CPI MP refused to comment on his remarks at the party’s national executive but told The Hindu, “It is advisable that Mr. Gandhi not contest against the Left, which is an integral part of the new movement called the INDIA.”
(With inputs from the Kerala Bureau)
