The Kerala unit of the CPI is contemplating advising Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, not to run from the Wayanad constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This decision emerged from the recently concluded national leadership meeting of the CPI and will soon be conveyed to the Congress.
The CPI’s preference is for Gandhi to go up against a BJP contender, given its status as a full-fledged ally of the Congress-led I.N.D.I.A political front. They feel that the grand old party should make sure Gandhi doesn’t compete in Wayanad.
In Kerala, the CPI is the second-largest ally of the CPM-led Left Democratic Front and has been contesting in the Wayanad seat since its formation in 2009. In the previous three elections, the Congress candidate consistently triumphed in this constituency, with Gandhi winning by a substantial margin of over 4.31 lakh votes in 2019.
Out of Kerala’s 20 Lok Sabha seats, the CPI plans to contest four, despite a significant defeat in the 2019 polls when the Congress-led UDF won 19 seats. One reason for this defeat is attributed to Gandhi’s decision to contest in Wayanad.
However, AK Balan, a central committee member of the CPI(M) and a former State Minister, dismissed the suggestion, emphasizing that the decision to compete is made by the respective political parties.
State Congress president K. Sudhakaran firmly asserted that neither the CPI nor any other ally has the authority to dictate the actions of other parties and confirmed that Gandhi would indeed run from Wayanad.
Regarding the CPI’s opposition to Rahul Gandhi’s candidacy, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K. C. Venugopal stated that the party’s election committee would ultimately determine the candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
Post Your Comments