CPI-M’s Shubhashini said that the Wayanad sitting MP should fight from the BJP’s bastion- Uttar Pradesh…reports Asian Lite News
Subhashini Ali, a leader of the CPI (M) that is part of the INDIA alliance on Tuesday questioned the candidature of Rahul Gandhi who is contesting from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate Annie Raja, asking why the Congress leader is not fighting the BJP head-on.
Shubhashini, while speaking to ANI said that the Wayanad sitting MP should fight from the BJP’s bastion- Uttar Pradesh.
“Congress Party is claiming that they are leading the joint fight against the BJP. Then why is their biggest leader contesting elections from Kerala, where there is no fight with the BJP? He should fight from Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP has the biggest stronghold. If he defeats the BJP there, it will have a huge impact,” she said.
She further said that Rahul Gandhi should think about what message he is giving by fighting the election from Wayanad.
On Monday, the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had also slammed Rahul Gandhi for contesting in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency against Annie Raja.
Addressing the media ahead of the election campaign in Kozhikode, the Chief Minister said, “Rahul Gandhi is contesting against Annie Raja, who is a well-known left leader nationally. She strongly called out the Bharatiya Janata Party’s government (BJP) in the Manipur issue and she was attacked by calling her anti-national. But what is Rahul Gandhi’s role in this? We can see Annie Raja’s presence in every protest that is happening in the country. But we can’t see Rahul Gandhi, a prominent leader in Congress, among such protesters.”
Both Rahul Gandhi and Annie Raja are contesting from Wayanad constituency. The BJP has fielded Kerala State President K Surendran as a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate from the constituency.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi won from Wayanad with a huge margin of over 4.31 lakh votes; the highest margin in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Kerala. He secured 64.94 per cent vote share defeating LDF candidate PP Suneer. The NDA had fielded BDJ(S) leader Tushar Vellapally who secured just around 78,000 votes which accounted for a mere 7.25 per cent.
Annie Raja to file nomination
Communist Party of India (CPI) Lok Sabha candidate from Wayanad, Annie Raja is set to file her nomination on Wednesday, the same day Congress candidate and sitting MP, Rahul Gandhi is also slated to file his nomination.
The CPI is a partner of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala.
While the CPI and the Congress are partners in the opposition INDIA bloc, the two parties are fierce contenders in Kerala with both parties pitting their strongest candidates against each other.
Annie Raja, wife of CPI general secretary D Raja holds the post of general secretary in the party’s National Federation of Indian Women and a member of the national executive of CPI.
Born in Iritty in Kerala’s Kannur district, Raja started her political career by joining CPI’s student wing, All India Students Federation and then its youth wing, All India Youth Federation.
Raja also served as the Kannur district secretary of the CPI’s women wing and then member of the CPI state executive committee. She became one of the leading voices in her party, staunchly protesting against attocities against women.
Rahul Gandhi will be filing his nomination papers for Wayanad on Wednesday after holding a rally in Kalpetta town, kicking off his electoral campaign. Other than Raja, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the prime rival of the INDIA bloc at the Centre, has fielded its state president, K Surendran from the key constituency.
Rahul Gandhi bagged 706,367 votes from Wayanad with 64.7 per cent vote share in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. CPI candidate PP Suneer who came second got 274,597 votes securing 25.1 per cent vote share.
The Congress led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 19 out of 20 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. While the Congress won 15 seats, its allies Indian Union Muslim League won two seats, the Revolutionary Socialist Party won one and the Kerala Congress (M) won one seat.
The Communist Party Of India (Marxist) won one seat in Alappuzha. (ANI)
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