A recent picture of Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Kochi.
Two top Congress leaders in Kerala on Saturday said they had requested their national president Rahul Gandhi to contest to the Lok Sabha from Wayanad constituency.
Former Chief Minister and member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Oommen Chandy told reporters in Kollam that the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has requested Mr Gandhi to contest the 2019 Parliamentary elections from the State.
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra units of the Congress have also raised similar demands.
Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the KPCC and the United Democratic Front (UDF) had requested Mr. Gandhi to contest from Wayanad. He said Congress leader T. Siddique, who was considered for the seat initially, has agreed to withdraw his claim in favour of Mr Gandhi.
Mr Chennithala said top Indian Union Muslim League leaders and other coalition partners agreed with the KPCC. He said the DCC president, Wayanad, I.C. Balakrishnan, has also raised a similar demand. "It is the Congress president who has to take a final call on the popular demand", he said.
The Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, since its formation in 2008, has overwhelmingly voted for the Congress. Congress leaders posited Wayanad as a "safe seat" for Mr Gandhi who is facing BJP leader and Union Minister for Textiles, Smriti Irani, as his main competitor in Amethi, the traditional constituency of the Gandhi family in Uttar Pradesh.
In the 2014 elections, M I Shanavas of the Congress had defeated Satyan Mokeri of the CPI by a margin of 20,870 votes. Shanawaz, working president of the KPCC, died last year. In the 2009 elections, he had defeated CPI’s M. Rahmathulla by a margin of 1,53,439 votes.
P.P. Suneer of the Communist Party of India is the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate in Wayanad. The National Democratic Alliance has accorded the Wayanad seat to its coalition partner, the BDJS. The party was yet to announce its candidate for Wayanad.
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