The election scenario is in Kerala is likely undergoing a tectonic change with Congress President Rahul Gandhi being tipped to contest from Wayanad, one of the safest bets of the party in the state.

Senior party leader Oommen Chandy and Leader of Opposition in Kerala Ramesh Chennithala, widely thought to spearhead two factions in the state unit, have made identical statements to this effect.

CONFIRMATION AWAITED

The confirmation has to come from the All India Congress Committee in New Delhi and Rahul Gandhi himself, who is currently touring Bihar, sources said.

One of the clearest hints on ground came from T Siddique, already named candidate from Wayanad, when he said he would be the happiest person to quit in favour of his own party president.

"Rahul Ji can ensure himself one of the biggest margins of victory if he were to contest from here," Siddique said, and added that he would take upon himself the task of facilitating this through sustained campaigning.

There have been demands from party leaderships in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that Gandhi contest a seat from one of the South Indian states, apart from the sitting seat in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

Seats on offer included Bengaluru Central, Bidar, and Mysuru in Karnataka and Kanyakumari and Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu. But Wayanad in Kerala was chosen above them given its promise for a 'cakewalk.'

Late MI Shanavas of the Congress had won the seat with a record margin of 1,53,439 votes in 2009 but a much reduced 20,870 in 2014 over his CPI rivals.

'KARMA BHUMI'

Congress national spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said in Delhi that Amethi continues to be the 'karma bhumi' for Rahul Gandhi but thanked the Kerala leaders for offering a seat for him in the state.

But a final decision has to come from the party president himself after he returns to New Delhi late in the evening, Surjewala said.

Meanwhile, the BJP in Kerala has reduced Rahul Gandhi's proposal to contest from Wayanad was prompted by fear of defeat in Amethi at the hands of its star candidate Smriti Irani, pitted against him for a second time.

Kummanam Rajasekharan, senior leader and BJP candidate from Thiruvananthapuram, said the Congress is apprehensive that it would get wiped out from North India as well as North-East India.

"The Congress party as a whole is seeking to avoid a direct fight against the BJP and the party president's bid to stand from Wayanad is part of its defeatist strategy," Rajasekharan said here.

In a barbed remark against the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front in the state, he said the CPI(M) rank and file will 'get an opportunity to vote for the Congress's Prime Ministerial candidate.'

"If the Left Front believes in electoral ethics, it should promptly withdraw its candidate from Wayanad to facilitate the Congress President's victory," Rajasekharan said.

Wayanad has shot to fame as a VIP seat for the 2019 elections in Kerala while Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Vadakara vie with each other in terms of prestige and high stakes.

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