Thiruvananthapuram/Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi is likely to contest from Wayanad in Kerala besides Amethi, his constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala Congress leaders said on Saturday. Though there was no confirmation from the Congress in Delhi, party leaders in Kerala sounded confident that Mr Gandhi would, indeed, also fight elections from Wayanad.
The announcement came from AICC general secretary Oommen Chandy and was confirmed by state unit chief Mullappally Ramachandran.
The move to field Mr Gandhi from Wayanad is being seen as an attempt to boost the Congress in south India, but it also comes amid reports that the race in Amethi for Mr Gandhi could be tighter this time.
Top Congress leaders in Kerala, including Mr Chandy and leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, have urged Mr Gandhi to contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.
Speaking to the media in Kottayam, Mr Chennithala said that he had spoken with Mr Gandhi when he visited Kerala earlier this month.
Mr Chandy said that the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) had requested Mr Gandhi to contest from Wayanad, but he had not responded so far.
“There is a demand that he should contest from any of the southern Indian seats. We suggested Wayanad. He has not commented on the request so far. But we are expecting a positive response,” he said.
Mr Ramachandran, however, said that Mr Gandhi had consented to contest from Wayanad.
Speaking with reporters in Delhi, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “Rahul Gandhi has always said that Amethi is his ‘karmabhoomi’ and it will remain so. Kerala party workers have urged Rahul Gandhi to contest from Wayanad, one of the Lok Sabha seats in Kerala. We thank them for their immense love and affection. Congress president will positively consider it.”
The Congress’ T. Siddique, who had started campaigning in the high-range constituency before an official nomination, said he was withdrawing to make way for Mr Gandhi.
Mr Chennithala said if Mr Gandhi contests from Kerala, there would be a wave in favour of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). “It will not only benefit (the party) in the state but the whole of southern India. The expectations of Congress workers would reach sky high,” he said.
Wayanad seat, which fell vacant after the demise of KPCC working president M.I. Shanavas last year, is seen as a safe seat for the Congress. Shanavas was elected to Lok Sabha for consecutive two terms, in 2009 and 2014.
Earlier this week, the BJP had announced Union minister Smriti Irani as its Lok Sabha candidate from Amethi, pitching her opposite Mr Gandhi. The seat has long been a stronghold of the Congress, which hasn’t been defeated there in the last three decades barring 1998 when the BJP’s Sanjay Singh defeated Satish Sharma of the Congress by a margin of 23,270 votes.
Amethi was regained by the Congress in 1999 when Sonia Gandhi was elected as MP from there.
Mr Gandhi has won twice from Amethi, his victory margin in the election prior to 2014 was over 3.70 lakh votes.
In 2014 general election, Ms Irani contested against Mr Gandhi and lost by a margin of one lakh votes. The Congress’ vote share dipped to 46 per cent in 2014 as against its earlier vote shares of 71 and 66 per cent in the 2009 and 2004 elections, respectively. The BJP, whose vote share in Amethi remained in the single digits in 2004, garnered 37 per cent of the votes cast in 2014. Since her loss in 2014, Irani has frequently visited Amethi and kept party cadre in the constituency motivated by keeping in constant touch with them.
Things became worrisome for the Congress after the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2017 when the BJP managed to win four of the five Assembly seats under the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.
The news of Mr Gandhi standing for Lok Sabha elections from Kerala electrified the UDF in Kerala and Congress cadres were visibly euphoric. Kerala’s ruling CPM, the principal rival to the Congress, wasn’y particularly enthused.
“He will be a liability for the UDF as all Congress leaders will make a beeline to Wayanad,” said its secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. UDF allies, including the Indian Union Muslim League and Kerala Congress, expressed confidence of sweeping all 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Mr Gandhi’s grandmother Indira Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi have also contested Lok Sabha elections from the south. Indira Gandhi contested the Lok Sabha by-elections from Chikmagalur in 1978, and won, a victory that revived her political chances.
Indira Gandhi, who won Andhra Pradesh’s Medak and UP’s Rae Bareli seats, chose to retain the Medak seat and relinquished the Rae Bareli seat.
Following the footsteps of her mother-in-law, Sonia Gandhi contested the 1999 Lok Sabha elections from two seats – Bellary in Karnataka and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. She defeated BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj from Bellary and Sanjay Singh from Amethi. She chose to represent Amethi and gave up Bellary.
