Congress leaders on Sunday came out against the CPI-M for a statement of its polit bureau member A Vijayaraghavan that fundamentalist votes catalysed the back-to-back victory of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi  Vadra in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.

Vijayaraghavan, while speaking at a CPI-M conference in Wayanad last week, stated that those at the vanguard of Priyanka Gandhi’s rallies
included extreme elements espousing communalist agenda and terrorism.

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He also alleged that the fundamentalist groups helped Gandhis catapult to victory in Wayanad. “How else could both of them win,” he asked.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal said Vijayaraghavan’s statement echoed the voice of the Sangh parivar.

Addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, Venugopal said Vijayaraghavan’s language is similar to that of the Sangh Parivar. “The BJP seems to have contracted the CPI-M to denigrate Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi in Kerala Vijayaraghavan is pursuing the BJP’s communal agenda in the state.”

He claimed that the CPI-M base is eroding in Kerala.

Vijayaraghavan’s statement is part of the deal between the BJP and CPI-M, he alleged.

In Thirunelli panchayat, a CPI-M stronghold in Wayanad constituency , Rahul Gandhi in 2019 and 2024 and later Priyanka Gandhi secured a significant lead. It has faced setback in its strong hold in Alappuzha, he said and added that ” Hence the CPI-M has resorted to majority communal tactics to retain its traditional base”

Opposition leader in the Kerala assembly VD Satheesan alleged that the CPI-M is implementing the Sangh Parivar agenda in Kerala.

Flaying the CPI-M for the statement of Vijayaraghavan, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)leader PK Kunhalikkutty said the left party is taking the route of communalism without any cover.

He said the CPI-M is playing the Sangh Parivar brand of majority communalism for electoral dividends.