NEW DELHI: The leadership of the Communist Party of India (CPI) is visibly upset with the Congress following the re-nomination of Rahul Gandhi, the incumbent MP from Wayanad, without any discussion. Nevertheless, the CPI now expects the grand old party to fulfill the commitment it made to dismantle the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and to allocate some seats to the CPI in other states such as Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and Rajasthan.
The CPI has nominated its women’s wing leader Annie Raja, also wife of party general secretary D Raja, as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate for the seat. CPI leaders argue that the Congress should show generosity and be accommodating towards the partners of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc.
“A realistic approach to the current emergent political situation and demonstration of maturity, similar to what Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President MK Stalin showcased with his seat-sharing arrangement in the state, is needed from the Congress,” a CPI leader remarked. They suggested that a leader of Rahul Gandhi’s stature should contest from a seat where he can directly confront the ruling BJP, possibly in Karnataka, as was discussed in the first INDIA bloc meeting in Patna, which was themed ‘BJP Hatao, Desh Bachao’ (uproot BJP, protect the country).
However, the leader acknowledged that deciding on candidature from a seat is the prerogative of the political party. Gandhi secured a victory from Wayanad in 2019 by a margin of more than four lakh votes but lost the traditional Congress seat of Amethi to BJP’s Smriti Irani.
In a conversation with this newspaper, Raja emphasized, “INDIA bloc constituents must trust each other and accommodate each other regarding seat sharing.”