Rahul Gandhi's Wayanad poll rival Thushar Vellapally arrested

Thushar Vellapally, the Bharath Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) leader, who contested against Rahul Gandhi from Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in the general elections this year, has been arrested near Dubai over allegations of cheating. Vellapally was running a company in Dubai for 10 years. The company went into losses and the cheque given to sub-contractors as compensation amounting to 8 million Dhirams, bounced, leading to his arrest, reported NDTV.

Meanwhile, seeking External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s intervention into the matter, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to him saying, "I express concern about his well-being and health while in custody. All possible help within the limits of law needs to be made available to him."

Vellapally’s BDJS is an ally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in Kerala.

However, CM Pinarayi Vijayan in his letter has referred to him as the 'vice president of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam' (SNDP), an organisation that works with the Ezhava community.

In Wayanad, he was defeated by the then Congress president by more than 6 lakh votes. In Wayanad, the Congress president defeated his nearest Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate PP Suneer by a record margin of over 4.31 lakh votes. The BJP-led NDA candidate Thushar Vellapally, got about 78,000 votes.

Moreover, Gandhi, contested from two Lok Sabha constituencies this election, won from Wayanad but lost his traditional bastion Amethi to BJP candidate and Union Minister Smriti Irani.

Vellapally is reported to be one of the strong face with NDA trying hard to make inroads in Kerala.