'Wayanad is my home': Rahul files nomination

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday filed his nomination papers from Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.

Rahul, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi and other senior party leaders including AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, submitted his nomination papers to the Wayanad District Collector who is also the Returning Officer.

After submitting the papers, he read out the oath to uphold the Constitution which concluded the submission process.

Rahul arrived in Wayanad by helicopter in and then held a roadshow from Kalpetta to Civil Station before reaching the District Collector's office to submit his nomination.

Prior to reaching the collector's office, he addressed the public towards the end of the roadshow and said he was always with the people of Wayanad on all issues, including the human-animal conflicts which have claimed many lives in the high range district of the state.

Rahul, the sitting MP of Wayanad, said that he was always ready to bring the issues being faced by the people of the hill constituency to the attention of the nation and the world.

He also said that Wayanad was his home, the people were his family and the land, with its beautiful history and traditions, his "guiding light".

"I am deeply grateful to the people of Wayanad for their unwavering support. As we step into a new era of 'Nyay', I want to reaffirm my dedication to serving each and every one of you to the best of my abilities," he said.

Rahul will be contesting against BJP state president K Surendran and CPI leader Annie Raja from the Wayanad LS constituency.

He had won from the same seat in 2019 with a massive margin of over four lakh votes.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi won after polling 7,06,367 votes out of a total of 10,92,197 with his closest rival -- CPI's P P Suneer -- receiving only 2,74,597 votes.

Voting in Kerala for the Lok Sabha polls this year will be on April 26.