LDF, BJP Struggles to Find Footing Against Priyanka Gandhi in Wayanad Bypoll

Thiruvananthapuram: With days to go before the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, the ruling CPM-led LDF is struggling to find its footing against Priyanka Gandhi.

The LDF’s confusion on key campaign issues has left it scrambling to mount a credible challenge. The Congress-led UDF's nomination of a popular national political figure, Priyanka Gandhi, had placed both the LDF and the BJP at a disadvantage right from the beginning.

Despite Sathyan Mokeri being a seasoned leader who has climbed the ranks, and BJP's Navya Haridas being a vibrant young contender, it's no secret that neither can match up to the popularity of their high-profile opponent.

Jamaat-e-Islami tag

The first major political attack on Priyanka Gandhi came when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused her of contesting the elections with support from hardline organizations like Jamaat-e-Islami. Ironically the chief minister’s attack coincided with the recent reports that the CPM central committee’s draft political document for the Party Congress has sought to distance itself from the Congress because of its “soft Hindutva” policies and neo-liberal economic policy. It further spoke about not going all out for the India Alliance and instead concentrating on building its independent strength.

Although the CPM often declares the BJP-RSS as its principal enemy, political analysts here are surprised by the chief minister's sharp attack on Priyanka Gandhi for taking Jamaat-e-Islami’s support. The BJP-Sangh Parivar too have always attacked the Gandhi’s for being “pro-Muslim hardliners.”

The BJP think tank including its IT cell Amit Malviya grabbed the opportunity to highlight Pinarayi Vijayan’s Priyanka-Jamat-e-Islami tie-up accusation on social media. The BJP had taken its anti-Muslim rhetoric to ridiculous levels in 2019 Lok Sabha polls when its supporters took to social media portraying the Indian Union Muslim League flags as Pakistani flags, during Rahul Gandhi’s campaign. The BJP campaign went viral.

As a strategic move, Congress then decided to replace the Muslim League flags with green balloons in 2024 Lok Sabha polls and now in the bypoll, depriving the Sangh Parivar of its plan to brand the UDF “pro-Pakistan.”

The CPM on the other hand had poked fun at the Congress-UDF for not showing the courage to carry its flags.

Voters are also left bewildered about CPM’s “soft Hindutva” charge against the Congress. At every election meeting that he addresses across the nation including Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi consistently attacks the RSS-Sangh Parivar for undermining the constitution, obstructing social justice issues such as removing the 50 per cent cap on reservations, conducting a caste census to give justice to people on the margins, fostering communal animosity, and favouring corporates like Adani and Ambani.

Many feel that CPM’s resolve to fight communal forces may be genuine but it lacks the pan-India presence to fight a formidable political force like the BJP-Sangh Parivar combine. While the bold assertions of CPM Kerala leaders about confronting Hindutva may sound good to the ears, on the ground the party has significantly weakened in strongholds such as West Bengal, where it has no MP or MLA, faces near decimation in Tripura, and has negligible presence in the Hindi heartland.

Neglect of landslide-affected families

Another issue that the CPM-led LDF planned to campaign extensively on was the Centre’s neglect towards the disaster-affected people of Wayanad. The Chief Minister frequently raised this issue in his public meetings.

Here too, the Congress seems to have effectively intervened in the issue. At a public meeting in Wayanad the other day, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Modi, labelling him a "bogus man" and a "liar" for failing the landslide-affected families of Wayanad. Kharge also defended the state government's demand for a Rs 2000 crore package.

CPM strategy

The CPM's recent attacks on hardline Muslim organizations are viewed as a strategic move to prevent the BJP-RSS from capitalizing on the issue. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, the BJP made significant inroads into the CPM strongholds in many districts including Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur, and Thrissur. The notable rise in the BJP's vote share at the expense of the CPM has triggered concern in the Left camp.

By hardening its stance against hardline Muslim organizations, the CPM aims to discard the "pro-Muslim" label attributed to it by the Sangh Parivar. The Left leadership, which initially believed that the BJP's rise in Kerala would primarily erode Congress's base—a belief that held some truth—the Lok Sabha results have shown that Marxist strongholds are also vulnerable in many areas.

The Lok Sabha and assembly by-elections are taking place at a time when CPM experiments with different strategies to counter the BJP's increasing influence in its strongholds, while also attempting to stop the Congress from returning to power in Kerala which remains the last bastion of the Marxists.

It is undoubtedly a tightrope walk for the Marxists.