Rahul Gandhi, contesting his maiden election from south India, told the people of Wayanad on Wednesday that he wanted a “lifelong relationship” with them “as a brother, a son and a friend”.

“I have not come here as a politician. I have come here as a brother, a son and a friend. I am here to forge a deep relationship with the people of Wayanad and Kerala,” the Congress president said in Sulthan Bathery, holding his first rally in the constituency since filing his nomination.

“I want to have a lifelong relationship with you. I want the sisters of Wayanad to say, ‘He (Rahul) is like my brother’. I want the mothers and fathers to say, ‘He is our son’.”

As the crowd of more than one lakh people cheered, Rahul told them he would not build the relationship on lies and false promises.

“I am not here to tell you my mann ki baat (what I feel),” he said, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose monthly radio broadcast is titled Mann Ki Baat.

“I am here to understand what is inside your heart and your soul. I also want to send a message across to the rest of the country that there is a place called Wayanad where everyone lives peacefully.”

If this was an allusion to the communal harmony in the constituency, where Muslims and Christians make up nearly half the population, so was it a jab at Modi whose government is accused of weakening the country’s secular character.

“It’s the love, affection and spirit of Kerala and Wayanad that is going to show to Mr Narendra Modi what this country is about,” Rahul said.

He cited Kerala’s diversity of cultures and religions. “Kerala is an example of peaceful coexistence, and I don’t say this lightly. There is a lot the rest of the country can learn from Kerala,” he said.

“You have your own ideas and your own way of looking at others. But you respect others as much as you respect your own.”

Rahul alleged that south Indians felt discriminated against by the Modi government.

“I wanted to give the southern states the feeling that you are as important as anybody else in this country. Your voices are no less important than anyone else’s,” the Congress president said.

Rahul, who had arrived in the state on Tuesday, addressed three rallies in Wayanad on Wednesday and a fourth in Ponnani constituency.

At his last rally for the day in Thrithala, Ponnani, he said the Congress would come to power after the Lok Sabha elections and would have a separate budget for agriculture.

“We are going to put in black and white the exact amount of money the government is going to spend for farmers,” Rahul said.

He said the agriculture budget would spell out by how much the minimum support prices for the various crops would be increased, how much money would go towards introducing better farm technology, and how much the compensation for crop loss would be.

“We will amend the law to make sure no farmer is put in jail for not repaying crop loans,” he said.