Rahul Gandhi’s Candidature in Wayanad and Congress’s Hopes in South India

Putting an end to the “political surprises” about contesting from Wayanad in Kerala, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has given a nod to contest from the constituency. But a series of developments show that the stage has just been set for a political drama.

Since the Left is the primary opponent in the constituency, Gandhi’s candidature raises questions over Congress’s commitment to oppose the BJP. As Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and many Left leaders have pointed out, BJP is not in the picture in Wayanad. BJP bagged only about 8% votes in the 2014 general elections while the Left had secured about 39%.

“The contest is against the Left. There are other regions where the BJP is in the fray. When he comes to Kerala, it could be viewed only as a fight against the Left,” said Pinarayi Vijayan.

Sitaram Yechury of Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI(M), also, questioned. “By coming here and fighting the LDF [Left Democratic Front], what is the message they are sending?”

The LDF had fielded PP Suneer of Communist Party of India (CPI) long back, and have completed their first phase of the campaign.

However, while announcing the candidature of Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said it is not a fight against the Left or Right, but a fight against the North-South divide.

“He will be able to strengthen the thread that ties North and South India together,” said Surjewala.

The decision had come after the repeated requests from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka units of the party. As Wayanad shares border with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s request was accepted. Apart from Wayanad, Gandhi will be contesting from his home turf Amethi in Uttar Pradesh “to strengthen the North-South bond”.

“I wanted to show South India that I am standing with you; Congress party is with you,” said Gandhi at the release of Congress’s manifesto on Tuesday in the first remarks on his candidature from Wayanad.

“There was a demand for me there. There is a feeling of neglect in South India. South India feels hostility from Narendra Modi. I wanted to show the people in South India that Congress stands with them. I wanted to send a message, ‘I am standing with you’,” he added.

As the party claims, will it be able to cross the North-South divide? If so, why couldn’t Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi do the same when they won from south Indian states? Well, the case of Indira Gandhi was slightly different. When the post-emergency waves ousted Indira Gandhi from power in 1977 general elections, she lost the Rae Bareli seat to Raj Narayan of Bharatiya Lok Dal. But, through a by-election in October 1978, she had found political security from the Chikmagaluru constituency of Karnataka. To make way for Indira, DB Chandre Gowda had sacrificed his seat and she defeated George Fernandes of Janata Party by 70,000 votes. Thus, Indira returned to the parliament within a year of her defeat.

In the 1980 general elections, Indira Gandhi, again, chose to represent a South Indian constituency and this time, it was Medak in Telangana.

Years later, in the 1999 general elections, Sonia Gandhi had contested from Bellary in Karnataka and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. Though she was elected from both the constituencies, she chose to represent Amethi when in Bellary, she had defeated senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj. Though Congress’s Kolur Basavanagoud retained the seat in the next by-election, the party had lost the seat in the later general elections except for the 2018 by-election.

Did the candidature of Sonia in Bellary help the Congress’s phenomenal victory in the south? In the 1999 general elections, Congress had won only five seats out of 42 in Andhra Pradesh, while in Tamil Nadu, they could not win even a single one. In Kerala, they bagged 8 seats out of 20, while in Karnataka, they could win 18 out of 28. Apart from Congress, their allies had also bagged a few from the South Indian states.

On the other hand, the Congress leaders from Kerala hope that Rahul’s candidature will help the party to galvanise more votes and seats in the South Indian states. In the same contest, let us not forget the infighting in Congress for the Wayanad seat. Rahul’s candidature was an end to a week-long uncertainty.

Earlier, Kozhikode District Committee President T Siddique’s name was nominated for contesting from Wayanad. Before the announcement of candidature of Siddique in Wayanad, a conflict was seen within the party. Oommen Chandy, who is known as the leader of ‘A’ group within the party, had proposed the name of Siddique for the seat. But, Ramesh Chennithala, who is one of the strong advocates of ‘I’ group within the party, had put forward Shanimol Usman’s name. Along with this, Congress’s Malappuram district president VV Prakash’s name was also being considered.

Finally, the All India Congress Committee approved Siddique as the candidate. It had led to strong internal conflicts within the party, said the sources.

Following the clarification, Siddique started his election campaigning. While, suddenly, Kerala leaders including Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala declared that Rahul will be contesting from Kerala. Siddique who had already started the campaign stepped back to pave the way for Rahul. As days pass, the conflict in the party seems to be growing. Chandy, who had said that Rahul will come to Kerala to contest from Wayanad, denied it and he, without any hesitation, said that he did not make any such statements.

So, is Rahul's candidature just a political gambit rather than a commitment to stop regional polarisation? The party, which claims that Rahul’s candidature is against the North-South divide, said that his primary focus will be on Amethi even if he wins the Wayanad seat.

Also read: Elections 2019: Is Wayanad a Safe Seat for Rahul Gandhi?