The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Rahul’s man KC in fray, Congress hopes to settle scores with CPM
Alappuzha is the only seat out of Kerala's 20 which Cong-led UDF lost in 2019
THE FRONT yard of a two-storey house of a local Congress supporter is dotted with the party workers who are busy making arrangements to welcome the leader they fondly call “KC”.
The contest in Alappuzha , which votes on April 26 along with the other 19 seats in Kerala, has turned into a prestige battle for the Congress with All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal’s return to the Lok Sabha poll fray after 2014 . The party is looking to wrest the only seat it lost to the CPI(M)-LED Left Democratic Front (LDF) in its landslide 19-1 victory in Kerala in the 2019 polls.
Venugopal, 61, who is considered close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, has not lost any major election in his career. He won the Alappuzha Assembly seat thrice in a row — in 1996, 2001, and 2006 and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Alappuzha in 2009 and 2014. In 2019, he did not contest after the party elevated him to the post of the AICC general secretary (organisation).
In Venugopal's absence, the CPI(M)’S A M Ariff gave the LDF a win in the constituency in 2019. However, the margin of victory – 10,474 votes – was the lowest in the state. This time, besides Venugopal, Ariff faces a challenge from the BJP, which has fielded its firebrand leader Sobha Surendran from the seat.
At a meeting in Mararikulam near Alappuzha town, Venugopal slams the Bjp-ruled Centre and the LDF government for their “indifference” to the workers’ woes.
As a woman narrates how she landed in trouble after she posted a meme on social media that mocked CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Venugopal rues the “rising intolerance of political strongmen”. Venugopal also attacks the LDF for using Rahul Gandhi's photographs in other states for campaigning while fielding a candidate against him in Wayanad.
Though Alappuzha is known for its Communist moorings, the Congress has won the Lok Sabha seat eight times.
Venugopal's supporters believe that Ariff's 2019 victory was an “aberration”. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary A A Shukkoor claims Venugopal would secure a bigger victory than his 2009 margin of over 57,000 votes.
“He has developed Alappuzha town as well as the Lok Sabha constituency...kc is accepted by all sections of society, irrespective of religion or caste," he says.
Meanwhile, 59-year-old Ariff says he is not losing sleep over Venugopal's return. “I planned to contest against him last time. He wenttodelhi,citingimportantresponsibilities. We have seen how wellhehashandledthoseresponsibilities. The Congress has lost several state elections," he says.the sitting MP believes public anger against the Centre over inflation, the CAA, and electoral bonds will favour the CPI(M).
Making the contest a triangular affair is the BJP'S nominee, Sobha Surendran, the vice-president of the state party unit, who is credited with increasing its vote share in Attingal from 10% in 2014 to 25% in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In 2019, the BJP fielded a candidate, K S Radhakrishnan, in Alappuzha for the first time after 2004, who polled 17% of the votes,
Surendran's campaign is centredonherpitch:“(pmnarendra) Modi’s guarantee: A woman Union minister for Alappuzha”. The party says her popularity among women will be “decisive”.