Rahul?s Wayanad

During election season, the much-desired debate on real issues engulfing polity recedes backstage and realpolitik receives priority. Political analysis by the parties and as well as that of the citizenry reduces down to typical election-time rhetoric wrapped in personal polemic. This precise phenomenon to have gripped to the political imagination surrounding Rahul Gandhi’s contest from Wayanad as much of the analysis seems to be repeating on two discernible theorems to explain his contest phenomenon.

One, of course, is Congress’ fear of loss of Amethi, once a traditional bastion and then other allied reason is the favourable demographic skew, with Hindus being the minority in Wayanad constituency. None can dispute these two propositions even within the Congress Party. But then, isn’t there something more to this than what meets the eyes?

At the outset, contesting from Wayanad, Rahul is a United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate with Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) as its prominent constituent. IUML is a constituent of UPA in the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-2019), with two MPs and in the current Kerala Legislative Assembly IUML has 18 MLAs as against 22 MLAs of the Congress Party.

The other two prominent constituents of UDF too Kerala Congress (M) with 6 MLAs and Kerala Congress (Jacob) with one MLA are identified with the Christian interests. With 28.65 per cent, Muslims and 21.34 per cent Christians aggregating to 49.99 per cent of the Wayanad’s minorities predominant electorate is an undeniable reality. Now, juxtaposing this with the composition of UDF would reveal the rationale of Rahul’s contest.

If Rahul merely wanted a safe seat, in the South, he could have chosen Karnataka, wherein Congress is part of the ruling alliance. However, by choosing Wayanad, Rahul wants to send a strong message of Congress comradery with Muslim League and bonhomie with all other non-Hindu religious, political consolidations. This is what one may call Hindu hatred, in style.

Rahul is contesting from Wayanad to render a clear fillip to the parties with unabashed communal congregations. ‘Secularism’ for Congress always is synonymous with the strengthening of Muslim and Christian radicalism. If Congress were interested in a straightforward contest with BJP, Rahul would have selected a ‘safe’ seat in any part of Bharat. Contest from Kerala and that too from Wayanad is a clear indication of what Congress stands for—the marginalisation of Hindu interests.

What is most interesting is that at the cost of antagonising its ‘ideological’ ally, Left, Congress is shamelessly affiliating with the Muslim League and Christian parties. Furthermore, even at the cost of antagonising its own residual Hindu cadre(?), Congress unabashedly wants to sit in the lap of Muslim and Christian parties.

Congress contest against the Left in Wayanad as also the contest against Kanhaiya in Begusarai of Bihar or contesting against the Left in West Bengal exposes the Left more than it exposes the Congress Party. Left’s protest against Congress in Wayanad as well in many other places is ludicrous, to state the least. CPM seems to have forgotten its fact that it was “Malappuram Muslim District” which laid the solid foundation for the communal strife in Kerala among other regions. Even in Bengal, the Left put the thematic and pragmatic edifice for the brazen Hindu hatred. The Left complaining against the Congress is nothing but pot calling kettle black.

Whether Congress competes with or neglects the Left, the former knows far too well that Communists would only intensify their onslaught against the Hindus. That is precisely what the Congress wants. The ultimate endeavour of the Congress Party, as well as that of the Left, is to ensure that more and more Anti-Hindu communal consolidation results. The means hardly matters to either of them. And it also doesn’t matter as to who does it with first.

There is one other thing not be lost sight of. Neither the Congress nor the Left is genuinely interested in the appeasement of Muslims or Christians. If that was their intent, it was something to be content about. Under the sham of an appeasement policy, Congress harbours a deep-seated radicalisation agenda. Congress is fundamentally grounded on the political philosophy of Hindu hatred; non-Hindu appeasement is merely a tactical step for its ultimate political goal.

In sum, the modern history of Kerala and to a reasonable extent that Bharat has been the history of Congress and Left competing with each other on who harms or hates Hindus. This time, Rahul seems to have piloted this endeavour, in style, and in result, Left appears to be meekly grumbling for having been outsmarted.