Rahul Gandhi appears set for a rousing welcome from his party when the Congress chief arrives in Wayanad to file his nomination papers on Thursday in what could be the biggest political show the north Kerala constituency has ever seen.
The party apparatus went into overdrive soon after it was announced on Sunday that Rahul would contest from Wayanad, apart from Amethi, which he now represents in Parliament.
The state Congress wanted Rahul to be taken around on a road show, but sources said it would depend on security clearance from the Special Protection Group that guards him and the state police.
Former chief minister Oommen Chandy said workers of the Congress-led United Democratic Front would participate in the road show. “They will come from all the 14 districts to express solidarity,” Chandy added.
Rahul is expected to arrive in neighbouring Kozhikode on Wednesday before travelling to Kalpetta in Wayanad to file his nomination for the April 23 vote in the southern state.
“From what we know, he would file his nomination papers on Thursday,” state Congress spokesperson Pandalam Sudhakaran told The Telegraph on Monday.
There was talk in party circles that Priyanka Gandhi would accompany Rahul but no official confirmation has come in yet.
Wayanad, 450km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram, is a relatively new constituency that has been carved out of three districts — Wayanad, Malappuram and Kozhikode.
The Congress has won both times since elections were first held here in 2009, although its 2014 margin over rival CPI fell from 1.5 lakh to just over 20,000.
The BJP on Monday gave the go-ahead to Tushar Vellapally, the chief of its regional ally Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, to contest from Wayanad.
The Congress has urged Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front to withdraw its candidate from Wayanad. “If their agenda is to strengthen secular-democratic unity, they must withdraw from Wayanad,” state Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran told reporters.
A senior Congress functionary in Kerala said the high command had given AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal the responsibility of overseeing all matters related to the filing of Rahul’s nomination.
The functionary said Rahul was being projected as a “poor man’s leader” in a bid to counter the BJP’s claims that he “ran away from Amethi”.
“It’s a constituency where a large number of voters are tribal people, so we are presenting him as a poor man’s leader. There is no exaggeration in that since he holds issues faced by the poor and the downtrodden close to his heart.”
Hindus make up 49 per cent of Wayanad’s voters, including tribal people and Dalits. Muslims account for 28 per cent of voters and Christians, 21 per cent.
Congress ally Indian Union Muslim League has said it would ensure a huge win for Rahul even if he doesn’t campaign in Wayanad.
The Congress is likely to limit Rahul’s campaign to the minimum in consultation with its UDF partners. “We can’t expect our party president to stick on to Wayanad as he has to tour across the country,” the party functionary said.
Rahul is expected to visit the constituency at least thrice ahead of April 23, which means security would be tightened in the region known for the presence of Maoist rebels.
The rebels, who get more active during election time, had surfaced just a week back when they distributed propaganda material and plastered posters threatening to avenge a comrade’s death at the hands of police.
