Congress president Rahul Gandhi I Photo credit: IANS | Photo Credit: IANS

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi will contest from party stronghold Wayanad in Kerala, as his second seat other than Gandhi family pet borough of Amethi. Congress leader AK Anthony announced the decision in a press conference held 11 am Sunday.

The announcement puts an end to speculation whether the Congress president will pick up a seat in any of the southern state.

The Wayanad constituency was formed in 2009 and has continued to be a Congress stronghold since then. Congress leader M.I Shanawaz won the seat both in 2009 and 2014 elections but it is lying vacant since his death in 2018. The BJP

Anthony said, after persistent "demands from southern states, Rahul ji has given his consent to contest from two seats, very happy to inform you that he will also contest from Wayanad in Kerala".

In addition to Amethi, UP, Congress President @RahulGandhi will also be contesting from Wayanad, Kerala, for the Lok Sabha 2019 elections. — Congress (@INCIndia) 31 March 2019

"Wayanad is a trijunction sharing border with Tamil Nadu and other areas. Also it shares border with Mysore, situated in Kerala but shares border with these states. Hence this is an ideal constituency," he added.

Responding to questions on whether the Congress president was not confident about winning from Amethi, party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked, "why did Modi ji leave Gujarat and went to Varanasi? Was he not confident in Gujarat? These are immature and childish comments. She (Smriti Irani) will complete a hattrick of losses."

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mocked Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from two seats. BJP said "Smriti Irani's popularity has scared Rahul Gandhi as he decided to contest from a safe seat in Wayanad".

The Left parties also questioned the move with CPI(M) ex-General Secretary Prakash Karat saying the move is aimed at taking on Left-wing parties in Kerala. "It goes against Congress' national commitment to fight BJP, as in Kerala it's LDF which is the main force fighting BJP there," he added.

Last week, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General secretary Oommen Chandy said that Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has requested Gandhi to contest from one of the seats in Kerala.

Congress has fielded candidates in 14 out of the 16 constituencies in Kerala leaving the Wayanad. The party earlier announced the name of Kozhikode DCC president T Siddique from the seat but he backed out.

Gandhi is headed for an intense battle against BJP's Smriti Irani in Amethi. In 2014, Irani's late entry reduced Gandhi's victory margin to 1.07 lakh votes from 3.70 lakh in 2009.



