Why is Priyanka Gandhi contesting from Wayanad, there is a big reason hidden here

New Delhi: On June 17, when Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge announced the decisions regarding the Lok Sabha seats of Rae Bareli and Wayanad, while talking to journalists Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that she will not let the people of Wayanad feel the absence of Rahul Gandhi. It is possible that during that time Priyanka had a flash of the day of 1999 when her mother Sonia Gandhi was entering electoral politics. While filing her nomination from Bellary seat of Karnataka, Sonia Gandhi had told the journalists that ‘I am contesting from Bellary, South India has always been dear to my mother-in-law.’ Now Priyanka is in the same role, she will contest the by-election from Wayanad, one end of the South. However, the message behind this decision is not merely emotional, but also practical. Two signals are evident in this decision of Congress. With the presence of Rahul Gandhi in the heartland of North India, Congress will try to regain its lost ground, while Priyanka will strengthen the party’s prospects in the South. It is not that Congress has realized the importance of Mission South only after the election results. In fact, its role had started taking shape even before the Lok Sabha elections.

South is far for BJP
While leaving the Wayanad seat, Rahul Gandhi had said that he/she has an emotional bond with the place. After losing from Amethi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the people of Wayanad sent him/her to the Lok Sabha. his/her candidature in that election has also been linked to the clean sweep performance of the Congress-led UDF. This time too, this front has won 18 out of 20 seats. On the other hand, BJP’s strategy of focusing completely on the South did not prove to be effective for it. PM Modi put a lot of effort in states like Tamil Nadu, but BJP’s relief performance was seen only in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Congress already knew that hard work in the South can bring results for it, which are not possible in North India. Therefore, Congress’s attention was focused on the South even before the elections. There is a reason for this, last time Congress contested a total of 423 seats across the country, out of which it won 52 seats. More than half of these (30) seats came from the South. This time Congress fielded candidates on 94 out of 130 seats in the South and won 42 of them. Congress has got 8 seats in Telangana, which is five more than last time. The party running the government in Karnataka has got 9 seats this time as compared to one seat in the 2019 elections. However, Congress’ performance in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh was disappointing. Concern has also been expressed at the level of the party high command regarding this. Within two weeks of the elections, Congress President Kharge met the state unit president YS Sharmila. Kharge said that work will be done towards strengthening the Congress in Andhra Pradesh. Obviously, Congress does not want to keep Andhra Pradesh as a weak link in its Mission South.

Priyanka, who has been active in politics for a long time, will contest her first election from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. Priyanka is not a new face for the people of Wayanad. During the election campaign there, she had held several rallies for Rahul Gandhi. Assembly elections are due in Kerala after two years, Congress will definitely try to turn the anti-incumbency atmosphere against CM Vijayan in its favour. But the biggest challenge for Congress there is to stop the growing base of BJP. BJP’s pattern is that it makes inroads in one seat and then keeps expanding. The 1998 West Bengal election is an example of this. Therefore, it is also important that Congress stands strong there. Priyanka’s election from Wayanad can be an important part of this strategy.

Congress’s South connection is not new
However, the connection between the south and the Gandhi family is not new. After the Emergency, the by-election for the Chikmagalur seat proved to be very important in terms of Indira Gandhi’s political career. The slogan ‘Ek Sherni Sau Langur, Chikmagalur, Chikmagalur’ is also recorded in history books. In 1999, the electoral contest between Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj from Bellary in Karnataka was also quite famous. Congress had searched for this seat as a safe seat for Sonia Gandhi. Sushma Swaraj had given a tough fight to Sonia Gandhi, but Sonia won amid the echo of the slogan of Desh Ki Beti and Swadeshi Bahu.

Sonia gave up Bellary seat to retain Amethi, but the trust on the South for a safe seat remained intact. In fact, the South has never disappointed the Congress party. Priyanka’s candidature is an attempt by the Congress to indicate that its trust in the South remains intact.