With Congress workers across Kerala eagerly waiting for a signal from party chief Rahul Gandhi on his candidature from Wayanad constituency for the coming Lok Sabha elections, KPCC chief Mullappally Ramachandran on Tuesday came out with a statement which helped reduce the hype over the entire episode.
Even though he said he was still hopeful that Rahul Gandhi would be Wayanad's Congress candidate, Mullappally toned down the earlier assertions of senior Congress leaders in the state, saying that the issue was only in the stage of a proposal.
He also made it clear that Rahul Gandhi had only heard the state leaders out. “He listened to us very intently,” Mullappally told reporters here on Tuesday. Meaning, the Congress president had not uttered a word about contesting from Wayanad. The manner in which Congress leaders like Oommen Chandy had presented the case, it looked as if Rahul had already given the green signal and the announcement of the candidature was a mere formality. Poll graffiti in Rahul Gandhi's name had also appeared in various parts of Wayanad.
Mullappally also hinted that Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were also being considered for a suitable South India seat for Rahul. As it stands, the only thing that was beyond doubt was this: Rahul Gandhi will contest from a South Indian seat besides his sitting seat Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. From which South Indian state would be anybody's guess.
Karnataka, most sensible option
“The Congress party in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, too, have raised a similar demand,” Mullappally told mediapersons here. “A decision will be taken by the party in a day or two,” he added. Top Congress sources said Tamil Nadu and Karnataka stand a higher chance.
In Kerala, the Congress is placed well and its main opposition, the Left, is part of a grand though patchy secular alliance. In Tamil Nadu, the Congress is not a major player and therefore Rahul's presence can give some polish to a rusty party machinery. In other words, he can do in Tamil Nadu what his sister Priyanka is doing in Uttar Pradesh. But it makes most sense for Rahul to fight from Karnataka because he will be seen to be taking on the BJP directly. Karnataka is also the safest. Chikamagalur and Bellary, two seats from where Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi had successfully contested, are also in Karnataka.
Mullappally takes on CPM
Nonetheless, the KPCC chief did not see any ideological contradiction in Rahul Gandhi taking on the CPM in Wayanad. Earlier, right after the possibility of Rahul's candidature was made public, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said the Congress was more interested in fighting the CPM than the BJP. Vijayan was perhaps alluding to the secular alliance the Congress was attempting to stitch together at the Centre.
“When had the CPM supported the Congress,” Mullappally asked. “It was Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPM that destroyed the national secular alliance that was in the making,” he said. The KPCC president said he was subjected to ridicule by the CPM and also within his party for having earlier mooted a grand secular alliance to boot out the BJP government. “Now, see what has happened to the CPM. They are not wanted anywhere. In Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav said the CPM was not needed. In Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar's NCP, too, said the CPM was too weak to merit a place in an alliance. It was only in Tamil Nadu, that too with the help of Congress, that the CPM was made part of the DMK alliance,” Mullappally said.
He also said the CPM would not be useful in the post-poll scenario. “They will not be in a position to help us form a government. They will not get a single seat anywhere. In West Bengal, even the two seats they had secured by a wafer thin margin, will be lost this time,” Mullappally said.
