NEW DELHI: As the Modi government and the opposition braced to lock horns over the speaker’s election when the new Lok Sabha convenes next week, Congress party grabbed the headlines on Tuesday by announcing the decision to field Priyanka Gandhi in a by-election in Kerala from the seat vacated by Rahul Gandhi.

It has been decided to have Rahul Gandhi keep the Rae Bareli family base and release the Wayanad constituency from where he won the second seat. While the candidature of Ms Gandhi-Vadra has enthused the rank and file of the Congress party in Kerala, the decision has apparently put the Communist Party of India (CPI), a member of the Indian National Develop­mental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a quandary over fielding strong candidates against her.

The dilemma has become more evident as the leadership of both the parties are ambiguous in their stand on whether they will nominate formidable contestants, as they did against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his re-election bid in the hill constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Unlike in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when Mr Gandhi had to face lightweight contestants, the CPI nominated its national executive member and general secretary of National Federation of Women, Annie Raja, and the BJP, its State president K. Surendran, in the just-concluded polls.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2024