Rahul arrives in Wayanad, greeted him with "We are with you" placards

Thiruvananthapuram, June 07: Congress president Rahul Gandhi arrived in Wayanad on Friday. Gandhi, who contested LS polls from two seats, won general elections from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. The other seat is Amethi in Uttar Pradesh from where he lost to BJP's Smriti Irani.

Gandhi landed at the Karippur International Airport in Kozhikode. As he stepped out, he was accompanied by PK Kunhalikutty, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MP from Malappuram. IUML is the party's longest ally in Kerala. Gandhi is in Kerala for three days.

While Rahul was enroute Congress office from Airport, the party workers welcomed him and held placards that had "We are with you" written. This comes after Rahul told senior party leaders that he wants to step down as the Congress president. Many senior party leaders and state PCCs have requested him to continue as party chief.

Gandhi's visit comes just a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kerala. Modi will offer prayers at the Sri Krishna temple in Guruvayur on Saturday and pray at the Lord Venkateswara shrine Sunday.

"I honour the decision of the people of the country. I congratulate all the winners. I wish to thank all the people of Wayanad who have chosen me as your representative. I also extend my thanks to each and every Congress worker for their hard work and efforts in this election," the Congress president had said in a tweet.

Gandhi, who won the seat by a record margin of 4.31 lakh votes, is expected to hold six roadshows in major towns across Wayanad district. His first roadshow will be held at Kalpetta town at 10.30 AM, second at Kambalkkad (11.45 AM). Other would be held at Panamaram (12.30pm), Mananthavadi (2pm), Pulpalli (3 pm) and Sultan Batheri (4:30 PM).

In the hi-octane battle in Amethi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who was the sitting MP from there, lost to Union Minister Smriti Irani in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Rahul Gandhi also contested from Wayanad in Kerala and won by a massive margin. Irani had cornered Rahul when Congress decided to field him from Amethi as well as Wayanad. She had then said that Rahul contesting from two seats show that he was certain of losing to her.