Wayanad, Oct 21 (IANS) Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi will visit Wayanad on Wednesday and will be accompanied by the party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi who will also file her nomination papers for the upcoming bypolls in Kerala.
Congress President Malikarjuna Kharge, three Congress Chief Ministers and other national senior Congress leaders will also visit Kerala on Wednesday.
Seasoned Congress leader and Kasargod Lok Sabha member Rajmohan Unnithan who is in the Wayanad district overseeing the last-minute arrangements for the roadshow to be held in Kalpetta told IANS that Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will reach Mysore on Tuesday and drive down to Wayanad the same evening.
“Sonia Gandhi will reach Kannur on Wednesday and from there will take a helicopter to reach Wayanad just before Priyanka files her nomination. The other leaders include Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his Deputy Chief Minister D.K.sivakumar, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot,” said Unnithan.
He said that this would be her (Sonia Gandhi’s) first visit to Kerala after a decade.
“While Priyanka along with other leaders will take part in a roadshow before filing the nomination on Wednesday, Sonia Gandhi will not be taking part in the roadshow but will accompany Priyanka when she files her nomination. Robert Vadra and Rahul Gandhi will also accompany Priyanka,” said Unnithan.
Unnithan added Priyanka and Rahul will stay overnight on Tuesday at Sultan Bathery, and their mother Sonia Gandhi will join them on Wednesday.
“Priyanka will visit Wayanad again next week and try to meet as many people as possible. We have no doubt that she will win by a margin of five lakh votes,” added Unnithan.
The CPI has fielded veteran former legislator Sathyan Mokeri who finished a close third during the 2014 general elections in Wayanad while the BJP has brought in young Kozhikode Corporation party Councilor Navya Haridas, a former software engineer who quit her job and plunged into full-time politics
Rahul Gandhi had won the 2019 general elections with a margin of 4.60 lakhs from Wayanad which came down to 3.64 lakhs in this year’s general elections. However, he vacated Wayanad in favour of Rae Bareli.
The Gandhi family has a special love for Wayanad as it was at Papanasini River located near the Tiruneli temple that Rajiv Gandhi’s ashes were immersed in 1991.
Wayanad constituency is spread across seven Assembly constituencies in three districts – Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode.
Of the seven, four are held by the Congress-led UDF, two by the CPI-M and one was won by the Left-backed independent legislator P.V. Anvar who has now split up with the ruling Left and floated his own party.