Rahul's Wayanad decision will bolster south-friendly image: TN Congress
Rahul contesting in Wayanad will become a campaign theme for the Congress largely in Tamil Nadu, and probably to a lesser extent in other southern states. “We conveyed to Rahul Gandhi ji that the government is not only for the Hindi-speaking people. To give confidence to the people of the south, we gave Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga and Kerala’s Wayanad constituency as choices. Rahulji has choosen Wayanad. This would definitely have an influence on our prospects in south India,” said a Tamil Nadu state Congress functionary.
In Tamil Nadu, parties have long complained of neglect by Prime Minister Modi. Party leaders including from the AIADMK have complained about the state’s interests being neglected. Added to this is the Dravidianist position that Modi represents Aryan-Hindi-Hindu ideas and therefore fundamentally opposed to Tamil Nadu.
More than a year ago, the idea of a southern front was mooted including by the CPM. Southern states said the Centre had ignored or discriminated against the south when it came to financial support. In March of 2018, the Kerala government organized a conclave of finance ministers from the south but Tamil Nadu and Telangana did not send their ministers. Pan-south Indian anti-Modi politics has been a non-starter.
Campaign plans are still unclear although TN Congress is hopeful Rahul will drop by for impromptu campaigning in the State. In terms of impact on specific constituencies, there may not be much in Karnataka, party sources say.
There was clamour from the Karnataka Congress unit that Rahul should contest from any constituency in the State. The reason for inviting was to provide the national party leader a safe seat and ostensibly to increase the Congress footprint in the state. Now that Rahul Gandhi has chosen Wayanad, which is contiguous with the Mysore Lok Sabha constituency (including two Assembly segments in Coorg), there is no reason why this should in any way impact voter choice in Karnataka, either positively or negatively.
The politics of Kerala and Karnataka, being very different, the ground level arithmetic and electoral calculations in Wayanad will not have any impact on its neighbouring Mysore Lok Sabha constituency. Mysore is with the BJP at the moment, its MP being former journalist Pratap Simha.
