New Delhi:
Congress president Rahul Gandhi will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Kerala's Wayanad as the second seat apart from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, senior party leader and former Union defence minister AK Antony announced on Saturday. "Rahul ji has given his consent to contest from two seats, very happy to inform you that he will also contest from Wayanad in Kerala," Antony said in a press conference.
Explaining the Congress chief's decision, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala cited the "geographical importance" of the constituency and said that the move was taken to fight the "discriminatory" attitude of the BJP towards the southern states.
When asked about BJP leader Smriti Irani's remark that Rahul Gandhi was not confident about winning from Amethi, Surjewala said that the Congress president will win the elections and BJP's Smriti Irani, who is contesting against Gandhi in Amethi, will complete a hat-trick of losses.
"Why did Modi ji leave Gujarat and contest from Varanasi? Was he not confident in Gujarat? These are immature and childish comments. Smriti Irani lost Chandni Chowk and Amethi. Now she is prepped up for losing again in Amethi," Surjewala said.
The Congress said that Rahul Gandhi was requested to contest the polls from three southern states - Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Wayanad constituency in Kerala is considered Congress party's bastion and seen as a safe seat for the Congress chief. Currently, Congress' MI Shanavas represents the constituency.
The Congress had earlier proposed T Siddique, the Kozhikode DCC president, for the Wayanad seat but he has backed out. Siddique said he also wants Gandhi to contest from the Wayanad seat. The Congress party has already announced Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Amethi.
