Post coming out with a robust manifesto that also aroused the irk of BJP, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers from the hilly district of Wayanad in north Kerala today, April 4. This is in addition to his nomination from the traditional Gandhi stronghold of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress president was accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the paper work.
Priyanka has increasingly been seen coming to the forefront of politics after she took over the reins of UP East in her grip.
Rahul Gandhi landed in Kozhikode, 73 km from Wayanad, on April 3 evening and was surrounded by a large number of party workers and supporters. Priyanka Gandhi had, however, come in earlier than him.
He was received at the airport by former Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy and other leaders of the Congress-led alliance.
The news of Rahul Gandhi filing from a second seat was met by a strong resentment from the ruling party. BJP’s called it a running away act and said the reason for this was his unsure prospects in Amethi.
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Rahul Gandhi, however, retaliated by saying that he was fighting from Wayanad because South India gets a sense of hostility from Narendra Modi led BJP. According to his statement, he wanted to stand by them.
South India has increasingly been an area that Congress is trying to target very aggressively. The move could come in the wake of the same process.
Wayanad, is largely a tribal area and shares borders with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The voting date here is April 23. It came into the limelight after Congress released a statement that Rahul Gandhi would file his nomination from here.
The candidate from NDA is Thushar Vellapally of the Bharat Dharma Jana Sena.
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