PTI3_31_2019_000155B-(Read-Only)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi gestures as he speaks during the Congress-JD(S) rally ahead of Lok Sabha election in Bengaluru, Sunday, March 31, 2019. Image Credit: PTI

Thiruvananthapuram: Until Sunday, the Lok Sabha contest in Kerala had appeared to be a straight fight between the Communist Party of India Marxist-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hanging in with an outside chance in a few constituencies like Thiruvananthapuram or Pathanamthitta.

The announcement that Congress president Rahul Gandhi would contest from Wayanad in north Kerala has shaken up that early analysis and has thrown Congress’ opponents into a tizzy, particularly the CPM.

Even a week ago, the LDF seemed to be riding strong, having announced its candidates well ahead of other parties, and the cadres launching full-fledged into campaign mode.

But the mood has changed since Rahul’s decision to contest from Wayanad in addition to the traditional Amethi constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

“By contesting in Kerala, Rahul Gandhi is not taking on the BJP, but fighting the Left”, said Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Vijayan’s party colleague and CPM politburo member Prakash Karat agreed, saying Rahul’s decision to contest from Wayanad “goes against Congress’ national commitment to fight the BJP, because in Kerala it is the LDF that is the main force fighting the BJP”.

The CPM and LDF are understandably upset by Rahul’s decision to contest from Kerala, primarily because the Congress president’s presence in Kerala will be a morale booster for Congress candidates in the neighbouring constituencies like Vadakara, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod.

In Kozhikode for instance, though LDF’s Pradeep Kumar is a widely accepted candidate, the ‘Rahul effect’ is already giving a boost to the prospects of Congress candidate M.K. Raghavan.

Similarly, Congress candidate Remya Haridas has shot into prominence in early campaigning in the Alathur constituency which is a traditional stronghold of the CPM.

On a larger scale, the Congress game plan is to give sharp focus to the 130-odd Lok Sabha constituencies spread across the southern states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Congress could muster only a mere 44 seats across the country in the 2014 election, but this time the party is hoping that it has a better chance of winning more constituencies in the south where voters have been critical of issues like the ban on beef, and the declining job market.