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Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s decision to also from Wayanad in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is nothing but a fight against the Left, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday.
“Rahul Gandhi is fighting in one of the 20 constituencies (in Kerala) and does not need to be seen as any different. We will fight him. He should have contested from a constituency where the BJP is contesting; it’s nothing but a fight against Left,” news agency ANI quoted CM Vijayan as saying.
READ | Rahul Gandhi picks Wayanad as his second Lok Sabha seat, will fight to retain Amethi too
Echoing the CM’s remarks, former CPM general secretary Prakash Karat told ANI, “To pick a candidate like Rahul Gandhi against Left means that Congress is going to target the Left in Kerala. This is something which we will strongly oppose & in this election we will work to ensure the defeat of Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad. Congress’s decision to field Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad shows their priority now is to fight against Left in Kerala.”
He said that it goes against Congress’ national commitment to fight BJP, adding that in Kerala, it’s LDF which is the main force fighting the BJP.
Vijayan’s reaction came shortly after state Congress leader A K Antony announced that Gandhi agreed to contest from Wayanad besides his family bastion, Amethi. Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, who was also present at the press briefing, said, “Wayanad is at the junction of the three states. Rahul ji has given his consent to contest from two seats.”
Addressing the media at Pathanamthitta on March 23, AICC General Secretary Oommen Chandy had said that there was a demand from party leaders that Gandhi should contest from any of the South Indian Lok Sabha seats, specifically requesting for it to be Wayanad seat. While speculation was rife about Gandhi considering the proposal seriously, the confirmation came only today.
Wayanad, a constituency in north Kerala, goes to polls on April 23.
