As the polling date draws close, state of political affairs in Kerala explicitly shows that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has an edge over the UDF and BJP in all 20 parliamentary constituencies, including Wayanad where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is contesting. Kerala votes on April 23.

The untimely and unusual decision of Rahul Gandhi to contest from Wayanad seems to be counter-productive for the Congress, as the BJP is harping on the presence of Muslim League’s green flag in his public meetings in Wayanad. BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, have labelled the Muslim League, a constituent of the UDF, as the same party which caused the partition of the country. Privately commenting that this sort of campaign by the BJP will harm the prospects of Congress in north India, many Congress leaders apologetically said that the decision of Rahul Gandhi is counter-productive.

In many constituencies, the tacit understanding between the UDF and the BJP is also visible. Many Congress leaders started campaigning for the BJP candidates in constituencies such as Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur. A massive exodus of leaders is happening from the Congress to the BJP in various districts. Shashi Tharoor, UDF candidate in Thiruvananthapuram, submitted a complaint to the Congress high command accusing that the local leaders have withdrawn themselves from the election scene and started campaigning for the BJP candidate, Kummanam Rajashekharan.

The LDF leaders in their campaign trail questioned Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from Wayanad, where BJP’s presence is insignificant. Attending a massive public meeting in Kalpatta, the district headquarters of Wayanad, on April 11, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that Amit Shah is not aware of the history of Wayanad because they lack connection with independent struggle. He said that the BJP president abused Wayanad by stating that it seemed to be in Pakistan. Shah doesn’t know anything about the people of Wayanad who played a significant role in the freedom struggle. In deadly resistance against the British Army, the Kurichya tribes in Wayanad fought along with Pazhassi Raja, the chief minister said.