Lok Sabha Election / 'Left-Right' against Rahul in Wayanad, which candidates are challenging?

Lok Sabha Election: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination from Wayanad, Kerala on Wednesday for the Lok Sabha elections-2024. Rahul had won from here in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In that election he tried his luck from two seats. Apart from Wayanad, he fought from Amethi. He had to face defeat on this seat of Uttar Pradesh. He was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani.

Rahul, who won by 5 lakh votes in Wayanad in 2019, is facing challenge this time from Kerala BJP President K Surendran and CPI's Annie Raja. Both of them are star leaders of their parties. While K Surendran is the President of Kerala BJP, Annie Raja is the wife of CPI General Secretary D Raja and is counted among the veteran women leaders of CPI.

Surendran is the president of Kerala BJP.

K Surendran is a well-known face of BJP in Kerala. He is the president of state BJP. He was very active during the Sabarimala protests in 2018. However, 237 cases were also registered against him during this period. There are a total of 242 cases against him. K Surendran is a prominent leader from North Kerala who became the state president of BJP in 2020. He contested the Lok Sabha elections from Pathanamthitta constituency in 2019 and secured third place.

Surendran was arrested during the Sabarimala movement in 2018. He spent more than a month in jail. In the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections, he contested from two constituencies, Manjeshwaram and Konni, but lost both. Surendran and five others were accused of threatening and bribing BSP candidate K Sundara to withdraw her candidature in the 2021 Manjeshwaram assembly elections.

Know about Annie Raja

Annie Raja is the General Secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women of CPI and a member of the National Executive of CPI. Born in Iritty in Kannur district of Kerala, Annie Raja started her political career by joining the CPI's student wing All India Students Federation and then its youth wing All India Youth Federation.

Annie Raja also served as the Kannur District Secretary of the CPI's women's wing and then as a member of the CPI State Executive Committee. She has been opposing atrocities against women. He also raised his voice against it.

Wayanad Lok Sabha seat

Wayanad consists of seven assembly constituencies. Kalpetta, Mananthavady, Sultan Bathery, Thiruvambady, Eranad, Nilambur and Wandoor. Kalapetta and Mananthavady are Scheduled Tribe constituencies and Wandoor is a Scheduled Caste constituency. Mananthavady, Thiruvambady and Nilambur went to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the 2021 assembly elections. Despite the wave in favor of the Left Democratic Front, the remaining four chose the Congress-led United Democratic Front.

Of the total voters in Wayanad, Scheduled Castes constitute three percent, while Scheduled Tribes constitute 9.5 percent. Here Muslims are 32 percent and Christians are 13 percent.

The path is not easy for Rahul this time

The path is not easy for Rahul in this Lok Sabha election. Ever since the formation of the India Alliance, the leftists in Kerala had raised objections to Rahul Gandhi's candidature. Argued that the main face of the alliance should fight against BJP. Congress in the state says that Rahul Gandhi is a sitting MP and will continue to contest elections from there. In such a situation, this time Rahul not only has to fight with BJP but also has to face CPI.