Thiruvananthapuram, March 31: Congress President Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad in Kerala, apart from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, left the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM furious. The top leadership of CPM hit out at the Congress and Rahul Gandhi for "taking on the Left instead of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)". CPM leader and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan vowed to defeat Gandhi in Wayanad.

"The decision of Congress to field Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad shows their priority now is to fight against Left in Kerala. It goes against Congress's national commitment to fight BJP, as in Kerala it's LDF which is the main force fighting BJP there," senior CPM leader Prakash Karat told news agency ANI. Echoing Karat's views Vijayan said Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Wayanad cannot be seen as a symbolic fight.

"In Kerala, as we all know, the fight is between the Left and the Congress, with the BJP not in the picture at all. He should have fought against the BJP. Now that he has decided to contest from Wayanad, we the Left will see to defeat him," Vijayan told reporters. As per the seat-sharing agreement between Left parties, the Wayanad seat has been allocated to the Communist Party of India (CPI) and it has fielded PP Suneer as their candidate. Rahul Gandhi Promises to 'Scrap NITI Aayog', Reinstitute Planning Commission if Congress Voted to Power.

On Sunday, the Congress party announced that Rahul Gandhi has agreed to contest from two seats. "It will be a message of unity of the north and the south," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said. Surjewala accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of causing divisions and said that the lives of people in south India were important to the Congress. Kerala is slated to go to the polls on April 23 to elect 20 Lok Sabha candidates.

Gandhi, who has been representing Amethi, won the seat by a reduced margin in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by defeating Union Minister Smriti Irani and she is challenging him again in the constituency in the 2019 elections. Wayanad has been a Congress safe seat.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 31, 2019 01:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).