Rift In INDI Alliance? CPI, CPI(M) Absent From Congress' Mumbai Rally Amid Displeasure Over Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad Candidature

While most of the INDI Alliance parties were present at the Congress rally on Sunday (17 March) at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, the national leadership of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI (Marxist) stayed away.

This comes at a time when the Left parties have expressed displeasure over the candidature of senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal from Wayanad and Alappuzha respectively.

While general secretaries of both parties, Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, cited engagements elsewhere as the reasons for absence, party insiders quoted by The New Indian Express wondered over the message Congress is sending.

"What message are they sending by fielding these two leaders against the Left, which is a dominant force in Kerala? If Rahul wanted to contest from south India, why could he not contest from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, or Telangana," a party insider said.

Rahul Gandhi's candidature was announced after the CPI announced D Raja's wife Annie Raja as the candidate from Wayanad. Since then, the Left leaders have been questioning Congress' decision to not field its top leader against BJP.

Also, Congress general secretary Venugopal is fielded from Alappuzha, where the incumbent is a CPM MP. The Left is unhappy with this too and thinks that this happened because of the pressure of the state's United Democratic Front (UDF).

Venugopal's candidature is problematic because his Rajya Sabha term is set to end in 2026. However, if he vacates this seat after winning the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP will get his Rajasthan seat.

"Fielding two top leaders of the Congress against the Left is sending a message that we are their main opponents," a central committee member explained the reason for not joining the mega rally of the INDI Alliance.