CPI fields Annie Raja from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha seat

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has named Annie Raja as the candidate from Wayanad, a seat currently held by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

A member of the CPI national executive and general secretary of the party's women's wing, the National Federation of Indian Women, Annie Raja will contest elections for the first time.

She is married to the party general secretary D Raja.

Though the CPI is a member of the Congress-led INDIA bloc nationally, the parties are rivals in the southern state of Kerala.

CPI is the second-largest coalition partner in Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), while the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) is an alliance spearheaded by Congress.

In the interest of INDIA bloc, the Left has publicly asked Rahul Gandhi to contest the 2024 polls from another seat, even though he won from Wayanad with a record margin of 4.3 lakh votes in 2019.

Since the Left and the Congress plan to contest general elections separately in Kerala, many in the alliance believe it would be wiser to let regional leaders front the battle.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Annie Raja reiterated CPI's decision to join forces with other like-minded parties to save the country.

When asked whether Rahul Gandhi would contest against her in Wayanad, Raja said the decision of each party is their prerogative and she cannot comment on anything based on speculation.

"I can comment on matters related to my party only. It is the decision of the Congress party to field which leader in which constituency to fight fascism," Raja said.

Besides Wayanad, CPI announced candidates for three other Lok Sabha seats.

Party veteran and former MP Pannian Raveendran will contest from Thiruvananthapuram, another crucial seat represented by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

Former agriculture minister VS Sunil Kumar and the party's youth wing AIYF's leader CA Arunkumar will be fielded from Thrissur and Mavelikkara seats respectively.