Deshabhimani, the mouthpiece of the ruling CPI(M) of Kerala, referred to Rahul Gandhi as Pappu in an editorial written on Monday, seemingly piqued by the Congress president's decision to contest the election in the Wayanad constituency of the state.

Titled 'Congress Collapse to be Completed with this Pappu Strike' the editorial by the newspaper said the Congress chief's decision to contest from Wayanad raises many questions and alleged that he is afraid of a defeat in Amethi, a pocket borough of the Gandhis in Uttar Pradesh.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Why Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from Wayanad in Kerala is awfully bad for the Congress

After week-long suspense, the Congress on Sunday formally announced that Rahul Gandhi would try his luck from Wayanad, besides Amethi.

"If the Congress wanted to fight fascism, then Rahul should contest against the BJP not Left Front. By contesting in Kerala which historically supports either Congress-led government or Left Front, Rahul is conveying a message that his party's main opposition is Left government instead of BJP," the editorial said.

The decision to contest in Wayanad also shows that Rahul is a failed politician who can not face the BJP on their stronghold, the editorial added.

Meanwhile, PM Manoj, resident editor, Deshabhimani, said the reference was unintentional and the newspaper will rectify the error.

"Personally abusing a politician is not our politics and the reference was unintentional, we don't have any problem in checking and rectifying it," he said in a Facebook post.

On Sunday, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Rahul's fight from Wayanad cannot be seen as a symbolic fight.

"In Kerala as we all know, the fight is between the Left and the Congress, with the BJP not in the picture at all. He should have fought against the BJP. Now that he has decided to contest from Wayanad, we the Left will see to defeat him," Vijayan had said.

The Wayanad seat has been allocated to the Communist Party of India (CPI) and it has fielded PP Suneer as their candidate.

Former CPI(M) chief Prakash Karat said Congress's decision went against the party's "stated commitment" to fight the BJP. "In Kerala, it is the LDF, which is the main force that can fight the BJP. And Rahul Gandhi is going to Kerala to fight the LDF, which means we have to take on the United Democratic Front (UDF), of which he will be a candidate," Karat said.

Kerala is slated to go to the polls on April 23 to elect 20 Lok Sabha candidates.

First Published:Apr 1, 2019 3:18 PM IST