Thiruvananthapuram: Amidst discussions within the Left Democratic Front (LDF) on who will contest against Priyanka Gandhi in the upcoming bypoll for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam has asserted the party’s right to field a candidate.
Speaking to Manorama, Binoy Viswam noted that some have argued the CPI should stay away from the contest, but he emphasised that it will be the party candidate who fights the election in Wayanad. In the recent Lok Sabha election, CPI leader Annie Raja contested in Wayanad for the LDF, but Rahul Gandhi won the seat by a margin of 3.64 lakh votes. BJP state president K Surendran finished third.
"The Congress had already planned this, but they should not have deceived the people of Wayanad. It was highly improper for Congress leaders in Kerala to involve Rahul Gandhi in such a drama. Both Congress and the CPI are the political faces of the INDIA Block, and our contest is primarily against the BJP. Instead of fielding him somewhere in North India, which is a BJP stronghold, it was a politically wrong move to bring Rahul to a seat where the BJP is never going to win. That mistake resulted from a lack of far-sightedness on the part of the Congress," Binoy Viswam said.
"CPI will contest in Wayanad, and the party will decide on the candidate. However, I am not in a position to speak about the candidate without consultations. The party follows a system in deciding its candidate. Some quarters have demanded that we should stay away from the competition. We, however, will be on the battlefield. The political reality of Kerala is well known to everyone. If we leave the scene, many votes will go towards the BJP. The CPI will not do anything that will strengthen the BJP. Hence, CPI will be in the competition," he added.
