Kalpetta: In an attempt to reach out to the riled up Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other Left leaders in Kerala, who are upset about Rahul Gandhi filing his nomination from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress chief on Thursday said that he wouldn’t say a word against the CPM government during his campaign.
“I understand that the CPI (M) has to fight me. But I am not going to say a word against the CPI(M). I am here to send a message of unity,” Gandhi told reporters shortly after filing his nomination papers before the district collector A R Ajayakumar.
Addressing the media, Gandhi said he had come to Kerala as he wanted to send across the message that India is one. "I felt that there is an assault by the RSS, BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I thought I should give a message that I will fight from both North and South India." The Congress chief added that the main concerns of the country were jobs and farmers.
“I know that the CPM and the Congress have been locked in a fight in Kerala. This fight will go on. But I want to make it clear to my sisters and brothers in Kerala, both from the Congress and CPM that our fight is common and is against the BJP,” he said.
The AICC general secretary Priyanka, along with the state leaders, including former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that Rahul’s statements were a clear “sign of maturity”. The mood within the Congress circles echoed Rahul’s statement, evident from the slogans raised by the supporters, who thronged the main road in front of the Wayanad Civil Station for hours.
Around one lakh party workers and supporters, hailing from five northern districts of the state, yelled slogans and hoisted colorful posters against the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sangh Parivar. Many of the slogans raised by the United Democratic Front (UDF) supporters were also targeted at issues of social malaise such as lynching in the name of beef consumption.
A party bastion 450 km north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram, Wayanad shares the borders with two states - Karnataka and Tamil Nadu - and Congress leaders here feel that Gandhi’s presence will lift Congress’s prospects in the two neighboring states also. A relatively new seat, it was carved out from Malappuram and Kozhikode during the delimitation exercise of 2008.
In the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress candidate late MI Shanavas had emerged victorious from here. In 2009, his victory margin was 1,53, 439 but in 2014 it came down to just 20,870. The seat is vacant now after Shanavas died six months ago
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