In a setback ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha contest, Wayanad District Congress Committee (DCC) General Secretary PM Sudhakaran quit the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
After joining the saffron party, Sudhakaran said present MP and Congress candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, Rahul Gandhi, was inaccessible to even the district leaders of the party. "If he is inaccessible to me, imagine the situation of a common man. He was given five years. If we give another term, it will destroy the development prospects of Wayanad,” Sudhakaran said.
Rahul Gandhi is contesting from Wayanad for the second time despite opposition from the Left. Left and Congress are part of the INDIA bloc, but they are contesting against each other in the state. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, saying that just as he lost from Amethi in 2019, the "Congress' sahabzade" will lose the Wayanad parliamentary seat this time.
"The Congress' sahabzade sees a problem in Wayanad. He is waiting for the voting on April 26, after which he and his gang will look for a safe seat because after Amethi, he will have to leave Wayanad as well," he said at an election rally in Maharashtra.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said major differences on critical issues have cropped up in the INDIA bloc which no longer stands united. She said allies of Congress are against Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Wayanad.
Sitharaman recalled Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's remarks on Gandhi's candidature and spoke about the nomination of CPI leader D Raja's wife in Wayanad.
"In the last 10-15 days and before the announcement of his (Gandhi's) nomination, his alliance partners have been talking against him. Communist Party of India leader D Raja's wife is contesting from Wayanad even though the party is a partner of the INDI alliance," the minister said.