As Rahul Gandhi enters Rae Bareli poll ring, Wayanad hopes he will choose it: ‘He cannot abandon us’

Putting speculation to rest, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, evoking sharp responses from both the BJP and the Left in Kerala. But the people of Wayanad said that Rahul, who entered the Lower House of Parliament from the seat in 2019 after losing the family turf of Amethi to Union Minister Smriti Irani, would not leave the seat even if he won both. Wayanad voted in the second phase on April 26 with the rest of the constituencies in Kerala.

As the Congress announced that Rahul would also contest from Raebareli, a seat inextricably linked to the Nehru-Gandhi family, the BJP and the Left dubbed it a “betrayal of the people of Wayanad”. During his campaign in Wayanad, Rahul did not give any hint of contesting in UP, which at that time led to criticism from the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF), the main rival of Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, that the Congress leader had “run away from Hindi heartland”.

But a general impression of the people of Wayanad is that he will prefer to retain the constituency if he also wins Rae Bareli. M V Paulose, a farmer at Pulpally in Wayanad, is of the view that Wayand “saved Rahul in the 2019 elections”. “We hope he will retain this seat if he also wins from Rae Bareli. We are sure he will win in Wayanad, which is always the safest seat for the Congress. People are not against Rahul contesting from Rae Bareli. Last time also he contested two seats, but it did not impact the results in Wayanad,” he said.

When Rahul campaigned in Wayanad this time, he tried to strike a chord with the voters by calling himself a family member of the people — a “brother and a son of Wayanad”. His campaign rallies and roadshows