With elections right across the street, Opposition Congress has fielded its prime ministerial candidate and party chief Rahul Gandhi from two constituencies. The Gandhi prodigy is set to stand from Amethi, a traditional Nehru-Gandhi bastion in Uttar Pradesh, and Wayanad, a northern forest district in Kerala. While Amethi was an obvious choice. However, the choice of the second constituency in Kerala is full of implications.
Wayanad is a relatively large district with a relatively prosperous population with a literacy level of over 80 per cent despite the fact that it is a tribal belt. Approximately 30 per cent of the population are natives of the hills, whose indigenous lifestyle and traditions were overrun by an influx of industrious Christians from southern and central Kerala in the second half of the last century.
While on one hand the movement contributed to the large-scale conversion of the hilly area into farmland, paddy fields and cash crops, the natives found themselves marginalised, and to a considerable extent, dispossessed of their land. In the last few years, because of the affirmative policies of the state government and the selfless work of several voluntary organisations, the tribals are now considerably well off. Christians however, remain the dominant community in Wayanad in population and political clout.
The Indian elections are a seven-phase event, with Amethi going to polls in the first week of May, and Wayanad lining up at the booths in the third week of April. It is deciphered that one of the reasons Congress chose Wayanad is that it gives Gandhi enough time to recoup from his North Indian battles and campaign for his newly adopted constituency.
Gandhi has always polled ahead of Modi in the south. Wayanad is a tri-junction constituency, bordering three southern states, which are expected to have a “Rahul ripple effect”. The Congress is a serious contender in Kerala and now with Gandhi in the fray, it is expected to do extremely well in the 20 Kerala Lok Sabha seats. Gandhi's move has not gone down well with the Left as they reacted with outrage, portraying a sense of betrayal. They said they will go all out to defeat Gandhi. Gandhi is trying the southern gambit to help his party increase its seat tally and overcome the existential crisis the Congress faces.
He even tried to reach out the CPM when he filed his nomination while accompanied by his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi. Rahul said he would not utter a word against the Left but would keep treating them as allies. "I understand that they will want to attack me but, I won't," he had said.
Meanwhile, Wayanad seemed to be charmed by the Gandhi siblings as they provided help to a local journalist who was injured. It was the second time Gandhi helped an injured journalist. The Congress chief has for a long time been mulling an outreach to the south because except for Karnataka, the BJP has been unsuccessful in making a headway in the south.
Rahul said he felt the south of India is being isolated, with the central government seemingly attacking their culture and way of being. Gandhi has touched a receptive chord with his nomination from Wayanad. Senior Congress leaders say Gandhi has always believed in cultivating an all-India leadership to distinguish the Congress from the BJP, which is still perceived as an upper caste north Indian party.
According to reports, 48 per cent of the populations are Muslims, 40 per cent Hindus and 12 per cent Christians. A characteristic aspect of Wayanad is a large Adivasi population. Though they are in the Hindu fold, primitive forms of worship still prevail among them. Another interesting fact about Wayanad is that it is the only district in Kerala where the Jain religion still has a presence. Wayanad has a small Jain community consisting of the Gounders who came from Karnataka.
Almost all sections of Christianity are well represented here. Muslims constitute 48 per cent of the population. They are Mappilas who came from Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. Hindus of different castes like Nairs, Thiyyas, etc. who settled here from different parts of Kerala, form 40 per cent of the population.
Rahul's Amethi nomination
The Congress' strategy is that while the party will be happy to support any anti-Modi front, it will not keep ceding the Congress vote share as has happened in Uttar Pradesh. While Gandhi calls Amethi his "karmabhoomi", but the work has made him realise that the Congress is nearly extinct in the state. Both, Rahul and Priyanka believe that they have to get back UP if they are in politics for the long haul. Amethi has always been a high profile Lok Sabha constituency. It's been a family bastion of the Gandhis for over three decades. Rahul has been contesting and winning from Amethi since 2004, he is contesting from Amethi in 2019 as well. Between 1980 and 2004, Amethi was represented by Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Satish Sharma, a close aide of Rajiv.
However, this year, the Congress announced Rahul contesting from Wayanad too, in addition to his traditional seat of Amethi. This has been interpreted as the first signs of the Congress fortress in Amethi under threat from BJP's Smriti Irani and hence the reason for Rahul choosing Wayanad as a backup. While Amethi is being seen as a tight contest, Wayanad is perceived as a "safe seat". While the Congress has maintained that Rahul's decision to contest from the Kerala district is because of requests from many leaders from Southern states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka urging him to contest from their state.
However, this move has bolstered the BJP’s charge that the Congress president is "running away" because he is unsure of winning from Amethi.
