Senior Leader Annie Raja – CPI(M) Rival For Rahul Gandhi (image-twitter/AnnieRaja13)
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has nominated senior leader Annie Raja as the candidate from the Wayanad constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
The Wayanad constituency in Kerala is currently held by Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi. Meanwhile, Congress and Left parties are allies in the Opposition in the INDIA bloc. CPI state secretary announced the party candidates for the four seats Monday after the party’s state executive meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.
Annie Raja serves as a member of the national executive of CPI and is also a prominent party leader in Delhi. Annie was born into an orthodox Christian family in Irutti village of Kerala’s Kannur district. Her father being a Communist, she too was influenced by its ideology and hence became an active member right from her childhood. Annie’s political career began when she joined the party’s student wing, All India Students Federation, and later she joined its youth wing, All India Youth Federation.
Being an active member, she protested for student causes. It was the insistence of late CPI leader and ex-chief minister PK Vasudevan Nair, that Annie started to bear more responsibilities in the party, reports Indian Express.
At the very young age of 22, she became a member of the CPI state executive committee. Annie also became the Kannur district secretary of the women”s wing of the CPI.
After meeting her life partner and party”s general secretary D Raja during party work, the comrades got married in the year 1990. Later, they moved to Delhi. Apart from the party works, Annie took a B.Ed and worked as a teacher.
Annie became a prominent face in various protests highlighting women”s issues. She took her stance even if it means to go against her party members. One such instance took place in 2022 when CPI(M) legislator MM Mani passed an offensive comment at UDF legislator K K Rama. Mani said that it was Rama”s fate to become a widow during an assembly debate. Though LDF initially rallied behind Mani, Annie strongly criticized Mani and said that it was “highly deplorable to make references to tragedies faced by women in life”.
“Such words should not have come from a Communist. We cannot accept the stand that anything can be stated to win a political debate,’’ she further added.
Annie remained staunchly vocal against the BJP policies and actions.
However, the fielding of the national Annie Raja in the Wayanad constituency will put the Congress on the back foot. The left in Kerala has also demanded that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should opt to fight from a constituency against BJP since the INDIA bloc is meant to fight the saffron party.
