How Wayanad people reacted on Rahul contesting LS polls 2024 from Raebareli

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has received the Lok Sabha election 2024 ticket from Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli, having already contested from Wayanad in Kerala in the second phase on April 26. Rahul’s mother, Sonia Gandhi, who had won in Raebareli in the 2019 polls vacated the seat this year and moved to the Rajya Sabha as an MP.
While Rahul is the sitting MP from Wayanad, his decision to contest from Raebareli has received a mixed response from the people in the constituency in Kerala. While some people in Wayanad are supporting Rahul’s move, others are against it, reported news agency IANS.
“He is leading the INDIA bloc and hence there is nothing wrong in it,” said one person as quoted by IANS.
Another person opined that Rahul will likely vacate Wayanad seat if he wins in Raebareli. The person said, “If he wins from both the seats, it’s most likely that he will vacate the Wayanad seat.”
“If he does that, then it might not look good for us. Anyway let us wait,” said another person.
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Weighing in on the matter, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader PK Kunhalikutty has said that the decision will help the INDIA bloc of which the Congress party is a major ally.
“The fact of the matter is we (IUML) requested the Congress party’s national leadership that Rahul should contest from one more seat other than Wayanad. Did not PM Modi contest from two seats in the past? We feel that this decision will be a boost for the INDIA bloc,” said Kunhalikutty.
In the 2019 general elections, Rahul Gandhi contested from Wayanad and Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi Lok Sabha constituency. While he won in Wayanad, he lost Amethi where BJP’s Smriti Irani emerged victorious.
Meanwhile, the BJP claimed Rahul ran away from Amethi fearing defeat against Irani again.