Lok Sabha polls: Rahul Gandhi may contest from Telangana or Karnataka
The LDF in Kerala has been very clear that it would prefer Rahul not to contest from Kerala, and has put up a strong candidate from Wayanad even before the election dates have been announced
With the CPI in Kerala announcing senior leader Annie Raja as its candidate from Wayanad constituency in the Lok Sabha elections, the seat that was won by Rahul Gandhi in 2019, there is speculation that the former Congress chief may contest from a ‘safe’ constituency in Telangana or Karnataka, apart from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
The LDF in Kerala has been very clear that it would prefer Rahul not to contest from a constituency in Kerala this time and has therefore put up a strong candidate from Wayanad even before the election dates have been announced. Annie Raja, the wife of CPI general secretary D Raja, is a national executive member of the CPI and the general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women.
There are two main reasons why the Left does not want Rahul to contest from Kerala. First, in the 2019 general elections, Rahul’s candidacy from Wayanad had a significant impact on the results in Kerala, with the UDF winning all but one of the 20 seats in the state. Second, the Left’s argument is that in 2019, the BJP had used the opportunity to portray that Rahul was running away from competing in north India.
Congress leaders in Telangana and Karnataka, after emphatic victories in the assembly elections in both states last year, are confident that Rahul can easily win from a constituency there. Indications are that two constituencies in Telangana that are being offered to Rahul in Telangana are Khammam and Bhuvanagiri, both considered to be Congress strongholds. Congress leaders in Telangana are hopeful that Rahul contesting from the state could have a similar impact as in Kerala in 2019, and help the party increase its tally from the three seats it won in 2019 (out of a total of 17 seats in Telangana).
Sources say that the Congress unit in Telangana has communicated their offer to the party’s central leadership in New Delhi. The state’s leaders had earlier requested Sonia to contest the Rajya Sabha elections from Telangana after she decided to stay out of electoral politics because of her ill health, but she decided to contest from Rajasthan instead.
