Congress ‘Betrayed, Exploited’ Kerala For Political Gain: State BJP Chief On Rahul Gandhi Vacating Wayanad LS Seat

Rahul Gandhi had won both from Wayanad and Rae Bareli constituencies and he had to vacate one of the seats within 14 days of the Lok Sabha results, which came out on June 4.

Kerala BJP chief K Surendran attacked Rahul Gandhi for his decision to vacate the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, accusing the Congress leader and his party of “betraying” and “exploiting” the south Indian state and its people for political gain.

Surendran, who lost to Rahul Gandhi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the Wayanad parliamentary seat, launched a scathing attack on the Congress, alleging that the grand-old party has used Kerala as a “political ATM” and the BJP had had predicted that the “perpetually missing MP” has betrayed the trust of Wayanad people.

“The BJP’s prediction came true: the perpetually missing MP has finally decided to vacate the Wayanad seat, betraying the trust of its people. @RahulGandhi and the@INCIndia only turn to Kerala when in dire straits for political gain, falsely claiming Wayanad as his second home,” the Kerala BJP unit chief wrote on X.

“The honest and lovable people of Kerala deserve better than to be exploited and abandoned. For Congress Kerala is nothing but a political ATM #RahulBetrayedKerala,” Surendran posted on X.

The Kerala BJP leader was reacting to the announcement made Monday by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge that Rahul Gandhi will keep the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and vacate the Wayanad seat which will be contested by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The decision was taken following a meeting of Congress’ top leadership in New Delhi, Kharge said

Rahul Gandhi had won both from Wayanad and Rae Bareli constituencies and he had to vacate one of the seats within 14 days of the Lok Sabha results, which came out on June 4.

The Congress scion retained the Wayanad seat by defeating K Surendran by a thumping margin of over 3 lakh votes in the April 26 Lok Sabha polls.

(With inputs from agencies)