New Delhi:

Over 2,000 km and nearly the length of the country, as well as starkly different socio-economic, cultural, linguistic, culinary, and political realities, separate Amethi in the Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh and the Left-dominated Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha seats.

They are, however, linked by Rahul Gandhi, who has represented both constituencies.

Mr Gandhi has confirmed his candidature from the latter, which he won for the first time in 2019; the win was critical since it allowed him to retain his MP status following a seismic defeat to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Smriti Irani in the party’s family bastion.

There remains a tantalising ‘will he, won’t he’ air about Amethi, which has been (and continues to be, by some accounts) a staunchly Congress seat in a state that has voted, religiously, for the saffron party and the ‘Modi wave’ since the 2014 general election.

But till Mr Gandhi and the Congress either confirm, or deny, a homecoming, the focus is on Kerala and a Wayanad seat that has voted for the party since it was formed after a delimitation exercise in 2009. MI Shanavas won the first two polls and Mr Gandhi the third.

READ | Rahul Gandhi’s “Soldier” Reply Amid Suspense Over Amethi Fight

Rahul Gandhi’s 2019 win was resounding; he secured a massive 65 per cent of the vote share and polled over seven lakh votes. For context, his nearest rival was PP Suneer of the Communist Party of India. The BJP – which has traditionally struggled in the southern state didn’t even field a candidate. It did in 2014, but PR Rasmilnath got fewer than 81,000 votes.

The numbers suggest Wayanad will remain with the Congress, for, based on data from the last two general elections, neither BJP nor the CPI have the numbers to mount a challenge.

But there is still quite a contest brewing in the constituency, with at least two plotlines (not including Rahul Gandhi and the Amethi mystery) making for a dramatic encounter.

The first, and biggest, is the INDIA vs INDIA story.

The Congress heads the INDIA bloc that was announced in June last year and includes over a dozen opposition parties that have united to stop the BJP claiming a third successive term.

The CPI is also a member but, in a peculiar twist, will contest against the bloc leader after it failed to persuade the larger party to allow it to field a candidate unopposed.

The Congress has played down the import of this contest. Party comms boss Jairam Ramesh emphasised that all Left parties remain a part of the group but “this does not preclude group partners from contesting against each other in different states, especially in Kerala”.

Annie Raja, the General Secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women and one of the Left’s tallest leaders, has been chosen to stand against Mr Gandhi.

Lok Sabh 2024 | Wayanad – A Scenic Constituency That Is Congress’ Stronghold

Speaking to reporters in February – her candidature was announced weeks before the Congress named Rahul Gandhi – she would only say that each party had the right to propose a candidate, and that it would be up to the people to decide.

The CPI vs Congress story in Kerala is at odds with an alliance between the Left and Mr Gandhi’s party in other states, and this has been flagged by the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made multiple visits to Kerala over the past few weeks.

It has also prompted Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to speak out in support of his Left colleagues and demanding to know why the Congress and Mr Gandhi had chosen to fight an ally, when he could take on the BJP in a potentially statement-making contest in Amethi.

The other subplot is the BJP’s pick to contest this seat – its state unit boss, K Surendran.

Mr Surendran has expressed confidence in his party’s chances this election, and has attacked Mr Gandhi and the Congress for “working against India”. His more recent attacks have been fueled by the row over the Congress leader’s “wealth survey” remarks.

READ | “Wayanad Wants To Say Goodbye To Rahul”: Kerala BJP Candidate

The row over the idea of wealth re-distribution has been picked up by the Prime Minister and has now become the BJP candidate’s big weapon in a state ruled by a Communist party.

Meanwhile, even more interesting than Prime Minister Modi’s visits to Kerala is the fact that the BJP sent Smriti Irani to stand by K Surendran’s side as he filed his nomination papers.

READ | “Jijaji Ki Nazar…”: Smriti Irani Mocks Rahul Amid Amethi Pick Buzz

Ultimately, history isn’t really on the BJP’s side in this contest. The party will hope, however, that the INDIA vs INDIA squabble will mean it can pick up a few extra votes.

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Nanded, Maharashtra:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, saying that in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, “Congress’s sahabzade” will also lose from Wayanad constituency in Kerala and he will have to look for a safer seat after that.

Addressing a rally at Nanded in Maharashtra to campaign for BJP candidates from Nanded and Hingoli seats, PM Modi said the information available for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls indicates that there has been a one-sided voting in favour of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Referring to Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi said, “After losing Amethi, the Congress’ sahabzade will lose Wayanad as well. So he will have to look for a safe seat after April 26.”

In an apparent reference to Sonia Gandhi, he said some INDIA bloc leaders left the Lok Sabha and moved to the Rajya Sabha as they have no courage to contest elections.

“For the first time, the family will not vote for a Congress candidate in the constituency where they live as there is no party candidate there,” he said.

PM Modi said he has spent 10 years fixing the bad governance of the Congress regimes.

“A lot of work needs to be done,” he added.

The Congress has been a barrier in the development of farmers and poor people, he alleged.

“The agriculture crisis did not happen now. It happened because of the flawed policies of Congress,” PM Modi said.

Targeting the INDIA bloc, he said it has no face to project and people do not know whom to entrust the country’s future.

“They may claim anything, but the reality is that Congress leaders have accepted defeat even before the announcement of polls,” he said.

He termed the opposition alliance a grouping of selfish people who have come together to protect their corrupt practices.

He appealed to voters to come out in large numbers to exercise their voting right in the Lok Sabha elections.

“You are not doing any favour by voting. you are securing the country’s future. I want to boost the morale of the party workers from the opposition. You (opposition leaders) are sure to lose the polls, but you will get a chance some day. But you must appeal to voters to vote,” he said.

PM Modi said the INDIA bloc constituents were contesting the elections against each other in 25 per cent seats.

“After (the election results on) June 4, they will be fighting more with each other,” he said.

He said that without the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, what fate would have befallen Sikhs who came from Afghanistan.

The NDA under PM Modi is seeking a stronger majority for a third consecutive term, while the constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc are hoping for a rebound after facing reverses in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)