Bengaluru, Nov 9 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar said on Friday that the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is afraid of facing a massive loss in the bypolls in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.

Reacting to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan questioning Priyanka Gandhi "for seeking the support of Jamaat-e-Islami", and stating that "this is the stand of Congress for secularism", Shivakumar said: "We can’t comment on such things. She is a national leader. The voters are different and anyone who takes a decision to vote can cast their vote to anyone.

"The Congress party believes in reaching out to every section of the society. I don’t know much about what was spoken about in Kerala. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan is afraid of losing in the Wayanad by-election in a big way and in that backdrop, he is making such remarls," Shivakumar said.

The entire state of Kerala and the people of Wayanad are appreciating the contest of Priyanka Gandhi from Wayanad seat and that is why opposition leaders are jealous of her, he said.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had earlier represented the Wayanad seat.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, CM Vijayan claimed that the by-election in Wayanad has "exposed the Congress' secular mask completely".

"Priyanka Gandhi is running as a candidate there with the backing of Jamaat-e-Islami. So, what exactly is Congress' stance? Our country is not unfamiliar with Jamaat-e-Islami. Does that organisation's ideology align with democratic values?" he asked.

"Jamaat-e-Islami does not value the nation or its democracy and disregards the nation's governance structure. The organisation was operating under the guise of political involvement, and this facade was evident in Jammu and Kashmir," CM Vijayan said.

Asked to comment on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claiming that finishing him in the state is as good as finishing the Congress party in Karnataka, Shivakumar stated: "CM Siddaramaiah is a mass leader and the BJP is trying to finish him off politically. The BJP also wants to finish off all leaders in the opposition in the entire country."