Congress president Rahul Gandhi will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Kerala's Wayanad as the second seat apart from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, senior party leader and former Union defence minister AK Antony announced on Saturday. "Rahul ji has given his consent to contest from two seats, very happy to inform you that he will also contest from Wayanad in Kerala," Antony said in a press conference.
Explaining the Congress chief's decision, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala cited the "geographical importance" of the constituency and said that the move was taken to fight the "discriminatory" attitude of the BJP towards the southern states.
When asked about BJP leader Smriti Irani's remark that Rahul Gandhi was not confident about winning from Amethi, Surjewala said that the Congress president will win the elections and BJP's Smriti Irani, who is contesting against Gandhi in Amethi, will complete a hat-trick of losses.