High command will decide where Rahul will contest: Chennithala

KASARGOD: Former opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said in a press conference that the Congress's national leadership will decide where Rahul Gandhi would contest in the parliamentary elections. Chennithala also said that Rahul will win by a huge majority irrespective of the constituency where he contests.

"The defeats in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where the party had high hopes, were unexpected. Even if the vote percentage did not decrease much, the party would check why it was not able to come into power," Chennithala said.

Chennithala, who reiterated the party's resounding success in Telangana, however, remained silent on the question of the party's defeat and infighting in Rajasthan.

"Pinarayi Vijayan and MV Govindan are rejoicing over the defeat of the Congress in the Hindi sector. CPM's unholy nexus with the RSS and the BJP is getting exposed. Should they be more happy than the BJP because the Congress lost? Pinarayi Vijayan and his team are only carrying out political propaganda ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The government, which is saying that it does not have any money in hand, is going around the state and receiving lakhs of complaints. The government is doing this to fool the people. Crores of money are being wasted on the work that can be done by the village officers. Neither the Chief Minister nor the Ministers are receiving or settling any complaint. No one is going to get any benefit," Chennithala said.

INDIA front isn't one to decide from where Rahul should contest: Chief Minister

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that it is the Congress and not the INDIA front that decides where Rahul Gandhi should contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Speaking at a press conference, Pinarayi Vijayan said that the INDIA front was formed to defeat the BJP.

According to Pinarayi Vijayan, political parties should determine which candidate should run from which constituency. He was responding when asked about the opinion that instead of contesting from Wayanad, Rahul should contest from a constituency where there will be a fight against the BJP.

"We won't be deciding on the candidate in Wayanad by looking at the candidate of INDIA front. LDF will have a candidate in Wayanad. Should a leader like Rahul Gandhi contest against the BJP or against the LDF? It is up to the Congress to decide. Will anyone say that he is contesting against the BJP in Wayanad? Congress should consider the issues related to this," he added.