Rahul picks Wayanad as second Lok Sabha seat, Left promises to defeat him

The Congress strategy in fielding Gandhi from Wayanad is to galvanise its workers and support base in southern India

Elections 2019: The Congress on Sunday confirmed their party chief Rahul Gandhi, in addition to Amethi in UP, would contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. The news enthused Congress workers in Kerala, who burst crackers and distributed sweets. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah said Gandhi is running away as he could lose from Amethi. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat said the Left parties would work to defeat the Congress chief.

The Congress strategy in fielding Gandhi from Wayanad is to galvanise its workers and support base in southern India. It is also consistent with its efforts to both maximise its seats, or put up a good fight even in tough battlegrounds, as Congress hopes to recover from the abysmal 44 seats it won in the 2014 polls.

As part of this strategy, senior leaders are contesting key seats. Digvijaya Singh is contesting from Bhopal and there is speculation that Ahmed Patel could contest from Bharuch in Gujarat and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra against Narendra Modi in Varanasi.

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In Kerala, Congress leaders such as Ramesh Chennithala have taken to term the Wayanad move as a “twenty-twenty” match, or a clean sweep for the party in all of Kerala’s 20 Lok Sabha seats.

The Left parties, which until now argued for “pooling of all anti-BJP votes”, are disappointed. The Congress and Left pre-poll seat adjustment has failed in West Bengal. The Left’s chances of winning more than a couple of seats in Bengal are slim, and with minorities in Kerala likely to turn to Congress, the Left Democratic Front could struggle in its last bastion….