Widening fissures in INDIA bloc? CPI names its candidate on Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad seat

The fissures within the opposition INDIA bloc appear to be widening as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday (Feb 26) announced its candidate for the Wayanad constituency in Kerala. Wayanad is the same seat from where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi last became an MP in 2019.

CPI, the second-largest coalition partner in Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), announced Anni Raja will be competing from the seat. Despite being a core member of the INDIAbloc, CPI's announcement came as a shock to Congress which had been projecting Gandhi to make a return to Lok Sabha from the same seat.

CPI top leader Brinda Karat on Tuesday (Feb 27) advised Gandhi and the Congress party to "think" about their choice of competing from Wayanad.

"CPI has declared its candidate for the seat in Wayanad, Comrade Annie Raja, who has played a key role in 'Mahila Andholan'. Now she will be the candidate from the side of the whole LDF. Rahul Gandhi and Congress need to think, they say that their fight is against BJP," said Karat.

"In Kerala, if you come and fight against Left, what message are you giving? So they need to think about their seat once again," she added.

What next for Gandhi?

With CPI pulling ranks in the state, the former Congress president is expected to contest from two seats in different states.

Karnataka or Telangana have been proposed as the alternative for the first seat while the other seat might be Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, from where Gandhi has been a three-time MP and Samajwadi Party is willing to give the Congress scion an opportunity.

Amethi, however, might be a tough contest for Gandhi as he lost to BJP's firebrand leader Smriti Irani in 2019.

Gandhi choosing to not contest in Kerala may also stem from the hints dropped by Congressgeneral secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal that he wants tocontest from Alleppey.

According to political experts, the party might be spreading itself thin if two of its top leaders contest from the same state where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is already not a big competitor.

(With inputs from agencies)