Kerala Elections could be Crucial for Rahul Gandhi: Here’s why

How can Kerala Elections change Rahul Gandhi’s fate? Learn the details

Tuesday, 6th April 2021

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has high stakes in the assembly elections of Kerala as compared to the four other assemblies that are facing elections- West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Although, the Congress party does not hold power in any of the states and UT, the case of Kerala is distinct from its other counterparts for the Congress.

Although Rahul Gandhi hails from the state of Uttar Pradesh, the primary reason why winning in Kerala is a matter of prestige and importance for him and the party he represents, is because he is also a Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, Kerala.

Rahul’s situation is similar to that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for whom winning in Uttar Pradesh is just as important despite his home state being Gujarat. He is an MP from Varanasi and thus his win in UP is crucial and a question of prestige.

Hence, Rahul Gandhi has left no stone unturned and campaigned extensively in Kerala for the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) for a much-needed win.

Going by the historic tradition of the state, Kerala has been known to change its government every five years. This ups the chances of the Congress to overturn the position of power currently held by the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

If the Congress manages to clinch a victory in Kerala, it will be the sixth state in the country where the party will be in power. The others being Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand (it is part of the ruling coalition in the last two).

However, despite their chances in the state, a win here in the April 6 elections will not be a total piece of cake as the present chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is a popular figure here in spite of all arguments over anti-incumbency surrounding him.

Vijayan’s work has gained him much admiration and applaud from the people of his state, especially his management of the floods and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic during its initial days.

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The Congress was well aware of this stiff competition in the state and thus made its move early on launching its campaign with Rahul in the forefront, days ahead.

Some of Rahul’s remarks has also made a difference with the people of the state when he said in February at a public event that he found Kerala “refreshing” because people here were “interested in issues”.

The north-south demarcation has been continually stressed upon by him, including a change in attire, in order to strike a chord with the people here and creating an image of himself whereby he could be seen as someone who belonged to the south.

The News Talkie Bureau

Source:

News18