india

Updated: May 31, 2019 17:28 IST

Congress president Rahul Gandhi who won the Lok Sabha election from Wayanad in north Kerala with a record margin of over 4 lakh votes will visit his constituency for two days on June 7 and 8 to thank voters, district Congress committee president I C Balakrishnan said.

This will be his first public meeting after the party’s rout in the general elections. He was supposed to visit the constituency this week but it was delayed due to the uncertainty over his resignation. He is also scheduled to open two offices of the local MP in the constituency.

The Congress-led UDF won 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala. It was the largest haul of seats in any state for the Congress.

“We are planning at least five road shows in Wayanad and Malappuram districts. But everything depends on the clearance of the Special Protection Group,” said Balakrishnan. Monsoon is expected to hit the state in the first week of June and Wayanad usually gets a good spell of rain.

Gandhi is also likely to meet relatives of a farmer who committed suicide last week. He had called them to express his condolences last week and wrote to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan pointing out how he died when moratorium on farm loans was in place.

V Dinesan from Panamaram, ended his life on May 25 by consuming pesticide. His relatives said he was upset with his debts and other liabilities. Two co-operative banks had sent revenue recovery notices after he failed to repay loans. Dinesan was a pepper farmer, but he could not dispose his produce after prices of spices plummeted, they said.

“The party has also advised leaders not to flock the constituency during his visit. Hope these leaders will understand the situation and not fuel further embarrassment to him. He will also study problems of Wayanad in detail and help solve some of these. For this he will meet many block-level leaders,” said another leader, who did not want to be identified.

Agrarian crisis has been stalking the hill district for many years. It produces some of the best spices and its black pepper is world famous for its aroma and flavour. Farmers said prices of pepper came down drastically after large-scale imports from Vietnam and other countries.

Gandhi’s victory fuelled much hope in the district which is reeling under farm crisis. During a road show in April he had promised farmers to help alleviate their sufferings.

Another problem crippling Wayanad is the ban on night traffic along the road that cuts through Bandipur tiger reserve. The Supreme Court had imposed a ban on night traffic through the road that connects Wayanad with Mysuru in neighboring Karnataka. During his campaign Gandhi had said he would explore possibilities to help end the ban which invited wrath of conservationists. People in Sultan Bathery and other small towns complained that due to night ban their areas turned ghost cities after evening.