Rahul Gandhi should take on the BJP in one of the States with a Hindi-speaking population, according to CPI Rajya Sabha Member P. Sandosh Kumar, rather than challenging the party’s ally. The Congress, notably its Kerala branch, is upset by a suggestion made during internal discussions at the most recent national executive conference of INDIA bloc member CPI that senior leader Rahul Gandhi not run for re-election from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in 2024. 

Remarks made on September 19 by CPI Rajya Sabha MP P. Sandosh Kumar that Mr. Gandhi’s trip to Wayanad would be interpreted as a sign of weakness in light of the country’s altered political landscape as of 2019 met with little support from the Congress. K.C. Venugopal, general secretary for organisation at the Congress, rejected the idea, saying that the Central Election Committee of the party had the authority to vote on a candidate and that “no one else needs to have an opinion on this.” The head of the state Congress, K. Sudhakaran, referred to the idea as “unfair” and insisted that Kerala’s Congress wanted Mr. Gandhi ran from Wayanad once more.

A seat-sharing agreement is not necessary in Kerala due to the state’s peculiar political landscape, which pits INDIA allies Congress and the Left parties against one another directly while the BJP has a minimal presence. According to insiders, Mr. Kumar had argued that Mr. Gandhi was not your typical candidate and that people looked up to him as the natural leader of the alliance—especially in light of the support he received during the 4,000-kilometer Bharat Jodo Yatra.

He has proposed that he run from one of the Hindi-speaking States rather than Wayanad and take on the BJP head-on. The CPI MP declined to comment on his statements made during the party’s national executive, however he did tell The Hindu, “It is advisable that Mr. Gandhi did not contest against the Left, which is an integral part of the new movement called the INDIA.”