THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The master brains behind Congress president Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Wayanad were CWC leaders A. K. Antony and K. C. Venugopal. They had come under flak from various quarters including their own Congress camp as well as from the Left and BJP camps for the uncertainty over Rahul’s candidature. But finally the duo pulled off a victory even before the campaigning has started in Wayanad with the candidature of Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad.
Over the last one week, Antony had been holding talks with a cross section of the leaders across the state to gauge the chances of Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad which will reap benefits at the national level.
The leaders from Kerala apprised him that there will be a “Rahul Gandhi wave” which would trounce the LDF in the state if the Congress president contests from Wayanad. Simultaneou-sly, AICC general secretary in-charge of the state, Mukul Wasnik also gave the report to the top brass of the AICC leadership on how the Left and BJP camps have been panicking ever since reports came on Rahul Gandhi contesting from Wayanad.
“A stage has come where the Congress politics have been pointed towards an axis comprising of Antony and Venugopal. In fact, the duo had dashed the hopes of the Left camp to come up with a third front. Rahul Gandhi will not ditch Wayanad LS seat when he wins from Amethi LS seat. Antony’s plan is to launch Priya-nka Gandhi at the by-election from Amethi, once Rahul Gandhi wins from both the LS seats”, said an AICC leader to DC.
But at the same time, Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad will blunt the BJP’s chances to win Thiruvananthap-uram and Pathanamthitta LS seats which come among their five A+ seats including Thrissur, Palakkad and Kasaragod .
Antony has always targeted the “violence of politics” practiced by the CPM and this time his ploy is to give an all out fight against the Left.
“Once Rahul Gandhi sets his foot in Wayanad, he will definitely be setting the tone for the big fight coming in the Assembly elections in 2021. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is going to be the grave digger of the CPM where the party is already facing ideology crisis. Never ever they had experienced such a situation where they are groping in the dark”, said Mullapally Ramachan-dran, KPCC president to DC.
The stage is already set where Rahul Gandhi has already undertaken his fight against the “politics of violence” by visiting the bereaved family members of Kripesh and Sarathlal and also that of S. P. Shuhaib during his last trip to the state.
Party leaders feel that Rahul Gandhi will have to raise this issue on the profanity where CPM has been trying to eliminate his own party members.
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