The Hindu (Mumbai)

Revanth hints at Rahul contesting from Wayanad

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Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy seemed to drop a hint that Rahul Gandhi might contest again from Wayanad. Inaugurati­ng the public rally marking the conclusion of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s (KPCC) political outreach programme, ‘Samaragni’, Mr. Reddy said: “Mr. Gandhi is fighting a toothandcl­aw battle against the BJP to save the country from fascism. In Kerala, he need not worry about his constituen­cy. That frees him to

Congress Leaders, including Revanth Reddy and Sachin Pilot, marking the end of the ‘Samaragni’ rally.

focus on spearheadi­ng the nationalle­vel battle against the BJP.”

Mr. Reddy also launched a noholdsbar­red attack

against the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and BJP, setting the template for Congress’s campaign in the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala.

Mr. Reddy drew an equivalenc­y between the LDF government and the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi. “Both are inherently corrupt like the BJP,” Mr. Reddy said.

Mr. Reddy said he was a “workerfrie­ndly and not a leaderfrie­ndly leader”. He added that Congress workers in Kerala recurrentl­y braved a vindictive CPI(M) that used murder and violence to crush dissent. “The key to Congress victory lies in the hands of such committed workers”, he added.

Congress leader Sachin

Pilot chose not to attack the CPI(M), an INDIA bloc ally, directly. Instead, he said secular parties should sink their difference­s to counter the BJP’s almost existentia­l threat to the country’s polity. “It is not an election to ascend to power. It is an existentia­l battle to rid India of fascism,” Mr. Pilot said.

He said the Sangh Parivar leaders received sizeable retainers from the colonial masters when Congress workers took bullets for the country’s freedom. “The BJP and RSS have no stake in the country’s constituti­on”, he said.

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MAHINSA S.

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