What is Congress message: Sitaram Yechury

Thiruvananthapuram: CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday asked the Congress to clarify what message it was conveying with its decision to field Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad.

Yechury told reporters that any party can decide which candidate should contest from which seat. However, it will have to explain to the people what message was being conveyed through it, he said.

Removing the BJP from power was the party's priority, he said. “This election will decide whether a secular democracy will survive or not. The LDF will register a thumping win in the state,” he said. “We are fighting the BJP. It is for the Congress to make clear against whom it is contesting. We have fixed our priority which is to maximise anti-BJP votes. Now, the Congress has to fix its priority," he said.

“Was the message that the contest is between the south and the north. Even Sonia Gandhi has contested from Rai Bareily and Bellary in the past. I don’t know whether Gandhi is contesting from Wayanad out of fear. The aim was to poll maximum anti- BJP votes. Our support is to the party which can overthrow the BJP. All alliances will be made after the elections,” said Yechury.

“In 2004, the Left parties had won 61seats. Of these, 57 were won by contesting against Congress. Yet, we supported the Congress after the elections. Our primary aim is to defeat the communal forces,” he said.

Keep yourself updated on Lok Sabha Elections 2019 with our round-the-clock coverage -- breaking news, updates, analyses et all. Happy reading.