Along with Amethi, Rahul Gandhi may also contest from Kerala
What's the story
According to reports, Congress President Rahul Gandhi may contest polls from Kerala's Wayanad, the party's bastion in the southern state. The constituency which borders Karnataka was held by Congress leader ML Shahnawaz, who died nearly six months ago. For the upcoming general elections, Congress had fielded T Siddique from Wayanad but he opted out of the race. Notably, Rahul is already contesting from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi.
Request
Here's why Kerala Congress wants Rahul to fight from Wayanad
Kerala Congress chief Mullappally Ramachandran said on Saturday that discussions in this regard have been going on for days. Many believe Rahul's candidature will boost the morale of party workers in the southern state. "Talks were on about this for almost a month. Initially, he (Rahul) was not willing. After much persuasion, he agreed," Ramachandran said. However, neither Rahul nor Congress haven't confirmed this.
Quote
Rahul will positively consider this: Randeep Singh Surjewala
"KPCC has sent in their desire and request that Congress President should contest there, we thank them for their effort and expression of their love, the Congress president will positively consider it," said Congress chief spokesperson, Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Constituency
Wayanad has showered love on Congress
Wayanad constituency was formed in 2008 after Kannur, Malappuram and Wayanad constituencies were restructured. The constituency has always voted for Congress overwhelmingly. In 2014, Shahnawaz won from there by a margin of 20,870 votes. In 2009, the margin was 1,53,439 votes. Apart from Wayanad, Karnataka's Bangalore Central, Bidar and Mysuru, and Tamil Nadu's Kanniyakumari and Sivaganga, were also presented as options to Rahul.
Southern connection
Sonia and Indira fought elections from Karnataka
Notably, Rahul's mother Sonia and grandmother Indira also fought elections from south India but restricted themselves to Karnataka. In 1978, Indira fought Lok Sabha by-polls from Chikmagalur and won. In 1999 general elections, Sonia Gandhi filed nomination from Raebareli and Bellary. She won both seats. While she defeated Sushma Swaraj in Bellary, Sanjay Singh lost from Amethi. Later, Sonia gave up Bellary.
Amethi
Meanwhile, Smriti Irani will compete against Rahul in Amethi
After stepping into politics, Rahul has always contested from Amethi, a seat held by his father Rajiv Gandhi. In 2014, BJP fielded Union Minister Smriti Irani opposite him and Rahul won by a margin of only 1.07 lakh votes. Irani was given ticket from Amethi this time as well. This confirms that BJP isn't interested in making Rahul's journey towards Lok Sabha easy.