Wayanad is one of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala. The seat came into existence in 2009 after delimitation. The seat consists 7 seven assembly segments. This seat is comprised of three different districts. Malappuram and Wayanad districts have three assembly segments each, while Kozhikode district has one assembly segment.
The seat came into prominence in 2019 when Rahul Gandhi put his candidature in the seat besides his traditional seat of Amethi. Southern States are always being used by the Gandhi family for political rehabilitation. This process was started by his grandmother, the former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi.
Indira Gandhi contested the Chickmanglur LS seat in 1978 after she bit the dust in Rae Bareli in the 1977 general elections. Again in the 1980 LS poll she changed her seat and filed her nomination from the then Andhra Pradesh LS seat of Medak. Medak seat is currently in State of Telangana. In 1984, when India Gandhi was assassinated, she was a Member of Parliament (MP) from Medak. But in the 1984s LS poll the Congress party lost Medak seat. When the entire country was swept by the Congress party in wave of sympathy factor of Indira Gandhi assassination the Congress party lost on the seat she represented at time of her assassination.
In 1999, Sonia Gandhi filed her nomination from Bellary in Karnataka, besides Amethi. After winning from both seats, she resigned from Bellary. Since then, the Congress did not win any general Lok Sabha election from the seat. None of the Gandhi family member contested from any seat in southern States twice. Rahul Gandhi is firstly taking such venture and contesting from any seat in southern State successively.
In the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections, the performance of the Congress party was highly unsatisfactory. The party won only 21 seats by contesting on 93 seats as United Democratic Front constituent. Its ally the Indian Union Muslim league won 15 seats by contesting on only 25 seats.
Since 1982 for first time the UDF under leadership of the Congress party failed to regain power after its five-year tenure in Opposition. This has further weakened the voter support base of the UDF. The voters of the UDF have no longer such kind of confidence of winning the elections either of Lok Sabha or of Assembly.
One of the reasons for Rahul Gandhi’s candidature from Wayanad is the support base of the IUML (Indian Union Muslim League) on the seat. It is also speculated that on advice of IUML the Congress party did not attend Ayodhya’s 22 January Pran Pratishtha function/inauguration.
In 2021 Assembly elections in Kerala the UDF won four of the seven Assembly seats which falls within Wayanad LS seat. Three seats were won by the Congress party while the IUML won one. The LDF won rest three seats. Of the LDF seats winning two seats were won by the CPM while the other by an Independent supported by the LDF.
If we count the vote share of the LDF and the UDF of the seven Assembly segments then the UDF remains ahead by the LDF only by the margin of 38776 votes only. The UDF lost 27 per cent of its vote share from its vote share in 2019 LS poll to 2021 Assembly elections on the seven Assembly seats of the Wayanad LS seat.
So, Rahul Gandhi may face tough challenge in 2024 LS poll from the seat. The Communist Party of India (CPI) had already demanded from Rahul Gandhi to contest from any Hindi speaking belt seat to strengthen roots of his party.
The CPI has put Annie Raja. She is wife of D Raja, general secretary of the CPI. She is the General Secretary of National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). The BJP has put K. Surendran from the seat and the seat is going to be tough challenge for Rahul Gandhi. The Congress party yet to decide that Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad only or from any other seat too. We cannot rule out possibility of Rahul Gandhi may put candidature from any other seat too.
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