Kalpetta: The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has already started campaigning for AICC general secretary (organisation) and Alappuzha sitting MP KC Venugopal in Wayanad even as the Congress or its larger political front the UDF - United Democratic Front - is yet to formally declare all its candidates.
Going by initial reactions of the voters, Venugopal is deemed to be a better candidate than any of the names floated around or those that crept into the draft list readied by the party already. They reason that Wayanad would get more vicinity in the political map once a prominent leader like Venugopal represents the constituency.
Venugopal now holds a powerful post in the Congress and with the new role, he has new, more challenging responsibilities within the party. The party sources also claim that he should be given a safe seat like Wayanad to ensure his presence in the Parliament and thereby lend a strong support for party chief Rahul Gandhi.
The Alappuzha MP also has the additional charge of the party in Karnataka.
The 55-year-old Congress leader, who is originally from Kannur, had chosen Alappuzha for his early political activities and won three Assembly polls (1996, 2001 and 2006) and twice (2009 and 2014) to the Lok Sabha from the latter place.
Venugopal is also party's deputy whip in the Lok Sabha and a member of the powerful Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision making body of the party. He had also served as Minister of State for Power and Civil Aviation in the Congress-led UPA II government.
“When the country goes to poll, a backward district like Wayanad needs a strong representative like Venugopal. He is one among the 10 strongest leaders in Congress and would be able to successfully campaign for Wayanad's railway, night travel ban (through forest roads) and many other crucial issues. Once the UPA gains power at the Centre, Venugopal would be holding a key position and Wayanad will also gain,” reads some of the IUML campaigns on social media for Venugopal.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rajmohan Unnithan's comment that Venugopal need not concentrate much on Wayanad invited the wrath of the party workers. Political opponents also allege that some safe constituencies are continuously being neglected by the Congress. Unnithan had also said that Venugopal need not spend 24 hours in Wayanad, but he can visit occasionally, the same way party's national leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi do it in their bastions in Uttar Pradesh.
In response to Venugopal's refusal to contest again from Alappuzha owing to hectic party duties, KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran had indicated that the former was likely to contest from a seat other than Alappuzha. “What Venugopal said was that he will not be in the fray at Alappuzha. This does not mean that he won’t be contesting from anywhere,” Mullappally had told media on Tuesday to clear the air on the matter.
Venugopal had earlier declared that he would not contest the Lok Sabha election on account of his organisational responsibilities. “It will be unfair to fight the polls in Alappuzha while being stationed in Delhi,” he had said.