Cong's Rahul to contest from Wayanad announcement evokes sharp reactions from Left, Right

The Congress' announcement that party chief Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala besides his traditional stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh evoked sharp reactions on Sunday from the Left and Right of the political spectrum.

While the CPI(M) and CPI said the move signalled that the Congress wanted to take on the Left which would work towards defeating him in the elections from Wayanad, the BJP said Gandhi "fled" to Kerala fearing that Amethi voters will seek an account of the work done by him and his party over the years.

Veteran Congress leader from Kerala and former defence minister A K Antony made the announcement that Gandhi will contest from Wayanad apart from Amethi at a press conference, saying Gandhi had consented to fighting from the constituency in Kerala following requests from the party's state unit.

The decision is seen as an attempt by the Congress to consolidate its electoral base in south India, especially Kerala which has 20 Lok Sabha seats. Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats and Karnataka has 28.

Reacting to the development, CPI(M) politbureau member Prakash Karat said the decision of the Congress shows that the party wants to take on the Left in Kerala.

"Their priority now is to fight against the Left in Kerala. It goes against Congress' national commitment to fight the BJP, as in Kerala it is the LDF which is the main force fighting the BJP there," he told reporters.

The CPI(M) ex-general secretary said his party will work to ensure Gandhi's defeat in Wayanad.

BJP chief Amit Shah also took a sharp dig at Gandhi at a rally in Uttar Pradesh for contesting from two seats.

Shah, while speaking at his first election meeting in western UP, said, "Rahul Gandhi has fled to Kerala as he fears that Amethi voters will seek an account from him."
On BJP's criticism that Gandhi's is "not very strong" in Amethi, Surjewala, at the press conference, earlier said, "Why doesn't the BJP answer why Modi ji left Gujarat and went to Varanasi. Does that mean that his condition was bad in Gujarat. Instead of discussing these type of immature things, they should discuss key political issues. Why is the BJP so scared?"