Rahul Gandhi's choice: A 20-20 for UDF

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When the AICC leadership asked the KPCC to suggest a safe constituency for Rahul Gandhi to contest from Kerala, the choice was unanimous. Wayanad , on the northern part of the state, shares a border with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and is the most sought-after seat in the state in the Congress camp.

The constituency was carved out during the delimitation ahead of 2009 seats. In the first election, Congress leader M I Shanavas won from Wayanad with a margin of over 1.53 lakh. He repeated the win in 2014 though with a much-reduced margin of over 20,000.

The constituency comprises three assembly segments each from Wayanad and Malappuram districts and one from Kozhikode. The constituency has a majority of Muslim votes and the Indian Union Muslim League, the second biggest partner in UDF, has considerable clout here.

In the three assembly segments in Malappuram and the lone segment in Kozhikode, the Muslim League is a major force. Hindus constitute 49.48% of the population in Wayanad while Christian and Muslim communities make up 21.34% and 28.65% of the population, respectively. In Malappuram, the mix is such that 70.4% are Muslims, 27.5% Hindus and 2% Christians. Across the constituency, Muslims form nearly 57% of the 13,25,788 strong electorate.

The Congress is hoping to bag a lionshare of the minority votes by fielding Rahul in the constituency. Minorities, especially Muslims, are likely to prefer him over Narendra Modi. Moreover, the Nehru family has always maintained a cordial relationship with the Muslim League.

The Congress on Friday formally communicated to Muslim League’s supreme leader Panakkad Hyderali Shihab Thangal about the move to bring in Rahul to the Wayanad constituency.

The state Congress leaders also expect that Rahul, who has now positioned himself as a champion of farmers and agriculture labourers, can impress voters who are largely farmers and plantation labourers. Many of them have been reeling under financial crisis triggered by several factors, including the floods of 2018.

Several attempts have been made to attach the properties of farmers who failed to repay their loans and the unrest has resulted in the growth of Maoist activities in the region. The Congress can level a two-pronged campaign in Wayanad, putting both the state and central governments in the dock.

The district has the most number of SC and ST community members in the state. As much as 35.4% Hindus in the district belong to SC communities while 7.6% of them belong to ST communities.

Dalit rights is also an issue which Rahul has been championing and this factor could also give him a clear edge among SC/ST voters. Above all, the KPCC is regarded as one of the few state committees, which has its own well-oiled machinery to launch campaigns. It will be headed by Mullappally Ramachandran and K C Venugopal along with veteran strategist Oommen Chandy and opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala.