Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's frequent trips to poll-bound Kerala and his barbs against the ruling front has got the lead party, the Communist Party of India (Marxists) worried.
The ruling LDF has been basking in the glory of local body poll victory and three subsequent pre-poll surveys that predicted an advantage to it. Pre-poll surveys conducted by Asianet News, IANS-CVoter and Flowers Channel have predicted an edge to the LDF in their surveys, also hinting at the possibility of the ruling front breaking the three-decade-old poll jinx of not giving a second term to the incumbent government. The Left, in the local body polls two months back, had notched up an emphatic win.
Upset, CPI(M) leaders have sharpened their attack on Gandhi. “He is a good tourist. He may be an ace swimmer and swam in many seas across the world but the waters here are different,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took a dig at the Congress leader on Sunday, citing his sea bath off Kollam coast last week.
He also chided the leader saying his sea voyage and subsequent bath have given a big boost to the tourism sector.
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During his last tour of the state (his second trip in two months), Gandhi had ventured into the Arabian Sea off Kollam on Wednesday along with fishermen to study their problems and jumped into the water after the net was cast and spent more than 15 minutes before returning to the shore. Visuals of his sea expedition had turned viral later.
LDF leaders admit in private that his frequent trips to the state can turn the tables in the April 6 assembly elections like the last parliamentary poll wherein it lost all but one of the 20 Lok Sabha seats.
{{/usCountry}}LDF leaders admit in private that his frequent trips to the state can turn the tables in the April 6 assembly elections like the last parliamentary poll wherein it lost all but one of the 20 Lok Sabha seats.
{{/usCountry}}The former Congress chief's entry in Wayanad as a candidate and the government’s handling of the emotional Sabarimala temple issue were cited for the Congress-led UDF's sweep in 2019.
“He has changed his narrative of a national leader. The BJP is not a force to reckon with in Kerala. Instead of supporting secular forces that are fighting communal elements, he is weakening secular-democratic forces,” said Politburo member MA Baby, adding that his criticism of the BJP was only confined to his words, not deeds.
”During the crucial Bihar elections last year, he was on a pleasure trip abroad. From his behaviour, we can gauge that he’s not at all serious. Instead of attacking the BJP, which is toppling Congress governments in many states, he’s training his guns on the Left,” he said, adding he was behaving as if Left parties were his main enemies.
The strong Kerala lobby of the party has prevailed over its leader not to attend Sunday’s mega opposition rally in Kolkata where the Congress and the CPI(M) are allies.
“After attacking the CPI(M) in Kerala, how can he change the script in Bengal all of a sudden? We told him about this and he agreed to our suggestion,” said a senior party leader, who did not want to be named.
Party insiders said the state unit has asked the leader to campaign at least a week in the state.
“We can understand the desperate mood setting in the CPI(M) camp. Rahul and Priyanka will campaign extensively in the state. We are planning their programmes in almost every district,” he said. During his last trip, Rahul Gandhi had sharpened his attack on the left saying there was a discreet understanding between the CPI(M) and the BJP that was the reason for slow progress in many cases probed by central agencies, including the sensational gold smuggling through the UAE consulate.
Political observers also agree his vigorous campaign will change the scene. “In Kerala, more than 46 per cent of the population belongs to minority communities. As an alternative to Narendra Modi, he holds much sway among them,” said senior journalist and political analyst John Mary.
Gandhi’s skipping the Kolkata rally has also upset the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which was planning a mega campaign against the Congress and the CPI(M) pointing out their contradictory positions in Kerala and West Bengal. But it said this ‘unholy alliance’ was nothing new.
“You don’t have to go to faraway Bengal to witness this double standard. In neighbouring, Tamil Nadu both are in the DMK coalition,” said party state president K Surendran, adding that both were practising politics of convenience, not ideology.