Amid confusion over Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s probable second seat in south India, NDA ally Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) on Tuesday said it is ready to give the Wayanad constituency in north Kerala to the BJP if Gandhi contests from there. The BDJS is a political outfit of the backward Ezhavas.
Out of the 20 seats in Kerala, the BJP is contesting on 14, BDJS is contesting on five seats and Kerala Congress leader PC Thomas is contesting from one seat.
“The BJP has alerted us about Wayanad. If Rahul Gandhi is fighting from there we are ready to give up the seat for the BJP,” said BDJS president Thushar Vellapally, who is seeking his maiden mandate from Thrissur.
The BJP has made it clear that if Gandhi decides to contest from Wayanad, the party will field a strong candidate against him. Though many names are doing the rounds, a party functionary said a senior leader will be fielded from Wayanad. Party state president PS Sreedharan Pillai is among the probable candidates. “We won’t give him an easy walkover. We will field a strong candidate,” said the leader who did not want to be identified.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues over Rahul Gandhi’s possible candidature from Wayanad. A senior Congress district functionary said the AICC has advised party workers to wait for a few days. The DCC has approached the party leadership saying that the uncertainty was affecting the morale of the grassroots workers even as rivals surged ahead in campaigning.
A top contender for the seat T Siddique had announced his withdrawal to make way for Gandhi. “There is no delay. It is a great honour for the state if he contests from here. We are sure the party president will take a favorable decision soon,” said Siddique. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and former CM Oommen Chandy also said they expected a favorable decision by Wednesday.
Malappuram DCC has passed a resolution requesting the Congress leadership to take a speedy decision on this. In many places in the constituency, enthusiastic workers have put up boards and hoardings to welcome the Congress president.
First Published: Mar 26, 2019 23:07 IST
