As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a roadshow on April 3 in Kerala's Wayanad ahead of filing his Lok Sabha poll nomination papers, all eyes were on the missing green flags of party ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) as well as that of the grand old party in the crowd. While in 2019, the flags of IUML outnumbered the Congress', this time they were conspicuous by their absence -- even those of the sitting MP's party.
On April 3, all key UDF partners including key ally IUML attended Gandhi's roadshow held in Kalpetta in Wayanad. The Congress leader was accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi and AICC general secretaries KC Venugopal and Deepa Dasmunshi as well as Leader of Opposition in the state assembly VD Satheesan and KPCC acting president MM Hassan.
During the roadshow, UDF workers mostly displayed placards of Gandhi's image and his election symbol -- the hand -- to add colour to the campaign. Party workers also carried balloons in various colours instead of flags.
In 2019, senior BJP leader Amit Shah had criticised Rahul Gandhi for contesting from the Wayanad constituency and remarked that during a procession in the area, it was difficult to discern whether it was India or Pakistan, alluding to the presence of IUML's green flags during the Congress leader's roadshow, said a PTI report citing a Congress source.
The source said that the Congress might have chosen not to display flags during the event this time, out of concern for such potential negative reactions from the BJP.
There is a concern that if the flags were displayed, the BJP could use it as an opportunity to spread propaganda against Rahul Gandhi, possibly trying to portray his campaign in a divisive or communal light, the source added.
"The party may want to be cautious in such matters, as the BJP will utilise even the minutest of things to attack the Congress, especially considering Gandhi's role as the main campaigner of the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls," he further explained.
Even as Congress was relatively cautious in its campaign strategy, the BJP did not leave a chance to comment on the matter. On April 4, union minister Smriti Irani lashed out at Rahul Gandhi by accusing him of being “ashamed” of IUML as its flag was not shown during his roadshow.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) took a dig at the Congress for not displaying its alliance partner's green flags at the Gandhi roadshow, alleging that such a step was taken considering its repercussions in North India.
"If flags were displayed, the League's flags would have overshadowed the Congress flags. What would have been the scene in North India if the Congress flag and the Muslim League flag had been displayed? So, they decided not to carry flagseither of Congress or of the Leagueduring the roadshow," CPI(M) State Secretary M V Govindan was quoted as saying by PTI.
Congress MLA T Siddique, however, said such remarks revealed "the dirty politics" of that party. "It is not the flags, but the symbol that is important. They don't have any other subjects; that's why they are discussing dirty politics. Since there are so many parties in the UDF and Rahul Gandhi is our candidate, and the hand is our symbol, we decided on one candidate, one symbol (for the roadshow)," Siddique told a news channel.
(With inputs from PTI)
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