Rahul Gandhi should fight BJP in Lok Sabha polls, not INDIA bloc members: CPI(M)

MV Govindan, the state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), has asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to contest.

The Lok Sabha polls against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rather than competing with parties that are part of the INDIA alliance, which includes the CPI(M). This was in reference to the possibility of Rahul Gandhi re-contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Kerala’s Wayanad.

“Rahul Gandhi should contest against BJP. He should not stand for election against a political party that’s part of the INDIA alliance. What message does it send when he contests against the Left in Kerala?” the CPI(M) leader said.

The CPI(M) leader also said the party’s loss in the Bhadra constituency of Rajasthan, was due to the shift of Congress votes to the BJP.

He pointed out that while the CPI(M) secured over one lakh votes, the Congress’s vote share plummeted from 37,574 to just 3,771, with the remaining votes presumably aiding the BJP’s win.

CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan had earlier said that the Congress MP from Wayanad should focus on combating the “fascist policies” of the BJP rather than involving himself in intra-state political rivalries.

Rahul Gandhi should contest from a place where the BJP has an influence, he said, and added that the BJP is not an important force in Kerala.

Similarly, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) would be fielding a candidate in Wayanad, where Rahul Gandhi also may contest the general elections, as per a report by news agency PTI.

Pinarayi Vijayan further said, “Congress will have to decide whether it is fighting the BJP or the LDF while fielding Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad in the Lok Sabha polls next year.”