Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor, who has got a party tick- et this time too from the Ker- ala capital, is a worried man. His fear is that the CPI, which has fielded Panniyan Raveendran, may split the anti-BJP votes. Raveendran is a strong candidate and has considerable clout in the Left bastions in the city.
A votes would favour BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekharan, who is giving Tharoor a tough fight. Taking to X, Tharoor said: "It's ironic that the same CPI that complains about Rahul Gandhi's candidature in Wayanad is playing the BJP's game in Thiruvananthapuram. The only effect of the CPI's campaign against me in Thiruvananthapuram is to divide the anti-BJP vote. And, they preach alliance dharma in Wayanad."
CPI wanted Rahul to contest from another state
The CPI has been criticising Rahul's candidature in Wayanad where they fielded senior leader Annie Raja, wife of D Raja. It opined Rahul should contest from another state where the BJP has dominance. It said Rahul should have a direct fight with the BJP instead of contesting against the constituents of the INDIA bloc.
Reacting to Tharoor's stand, CPI general secretary D Raja said: "It is an absurd statement. An educated man like Shashi Tharoor must un- derstand the history of Kerala properly. It is the Left that is fighting the communal and fascist forces...so many Con- gress leaders are leaving and joining B.JP," he said.
"Rahul Gandhi claims he is spearheading the fight against BJP. Then why is he contesting from Wayanad and against LDF? Congress must explain what message it want to convey. Who are their archrivals," Raja wondered.
In Kozhikode, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam questioned the political wisdom of the Congress in fielding Rahul from Wayanad against Annie Raja, and added it shows they cannot see beyond their nose. Muslim voters too are upset as Tharoor called Hamas a terror organisation and shared photos of Ram Mandir on X. The community is likely to back the CPI, thus leaving the Congress in a fix.
