Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency: Rahul Gandhi vs CPI’s Annie Raja, BJP’s K Surendran

Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad

Before filing his nomination, Rahul Gandhi held a large roadshow with his sister and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal. They were accompanied by Opposition leader V D Satheesan, Congress campaign committee convener Ramesh Chennithala and IUML general secretary P K Kunhalikutty.

Notably, the event was devoid of flags belonging to the Congress or its allies, including the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) which is considered to hold a significant sway in the Wayanad seat.

In his nomination papers submitted to Wayanad District Collector Dr Renu Raj, the Congress leader declared his total assets in 2024 as worth Rs. 20.4 crore. In addition to liabilities worth Rs 49.79 lakh, he has 18 pending FIRs and one defamation conviction against him.

Here are Rahul Gandhi’s competitors in Wayanad:

Annie Raja – CPI

This time around, Rahul is up against CPI national leader Annie Raja who has been fielded as the LDF candidate there. Annie (60) is a member of the CPI’s National Executive Committee and the chief of General Secretary of National Federation of Indian Women. She hails from Kannur district and is married to CPI general secretary D Raja.

In her nomination papers, Annie Raja has declared total assets worth Rs. 1.61 crore, of which Rs. 89.44 lakh is in movable assets and Rs. 71.69 lakh in immovable assets. She has declared that she has no financial liabilities.

She has been campaigning in the constituency since March 1.

K SURENDRAN – BJP

Meanwhile, the BJP has fielded a seasoned veteran to face Congress’ Rahul Gandhi. Party state president K Surendran will be fighting the polls from the Wayanad seat. Surendran has contested all three Lok Sabha elections since 2009 and four Assembly elections.

In 2021, he contested from Konni and Manjeshwar seats simultaneously. In 2016, Surendran had lost Manjeshwar seat by a mere 86 votes.