THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With BJP state president K. Surendran fielding a candidate against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the fight in Wayanad has come into the national spotlight. CPI leader Annie Raja is also a candidate, but at the national level, the CPI and the Congress are in the India front. So, at the national level, the contest is between the 'India' and the NDA.

As an MP, Surendran's fight is based on the fallout from Rahul Gandhi's performance in the constituency and the influence of Prime Minister Modi. Rahul Gandhi's strength will be that the Citizenship Amendment Act will influence crucial Muslim voters in the constituency.

Even though K. Surendran has become a candidate in Wayanad, the BJP has decided not to hand over the state president's post to anyone for the time being. However, there will have to be a change in the coordination of election activities in the state. Surendran was overseeing the campaign activities on the assumption that he would not contest.

Although Rajiv Chandrasekhar is the Union Minister in Thiruvananthapuram, he is also a talented technocrat and businessman. In Pathanamthitta, Anil Antony comes from a political family but is also a technologist. In Kollam, Krishnakumar is a movie star. KS Radhakrishnan of Ernakulam is a theorist and social activist. Suresh Gopi is a movie star in Thrissur. Education expert Dr TN Sarasu is the candidate in Alathur. If the party organization system is not given a big boost to campaign for all of them, things will get messy.

State General Secretary P. Sudheer is in charge of the campaign. A 40-member team has also been assigned to the campaign department and to conduct meetings at various locations. With national leaders arriving in the state in the coming days, the campaign will intensify.