Counting day: Rahul Gandhi takes massive lead in Wayanad, show early trends

Wayanad has been a Congress stronghold since it was carved out after the delimitation exercise in 2009

Published on: Jun 4, 2024, 10:00:12 IST

By Vishnu Varma, Kochi

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Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is fighting for re-election from Wayanad constituency in Kerala, has built up a lead of over 45,000 votes within two hours of counting over his nearest rival, the CPI candidate Annie Raja, showed early counting trends at 9.45am. BJP state president K Surendran is in distant third place.

Poll officials at a counting centre in Shimla on Tuesday. (PTI)

Wayanad has been a Congress stronghold since it was carved out after the delimitation exercise in 2009. The constituency spreads across Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in north Kerala and has a sizeable Muslim and tribal population.

In 2019, Gandhi had secured 64% of the total 10.87 lakh votes, winning by over 4.3 lakh votes. This time, the CPI nominated its national council leader Annie Raja, wife of national secretary D Raja, in her debut election for the Lok Sabha. Though BJP fielded its state president, the constituency has been traditionally a weak spot for the saffron party.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishnu Varma
Vishnu Varma is Assistant Editor and reports from Kerala for the Hindustan Times. He has 10 years of experience writing for print and digital platforms and has worked at The New York Times, NDTV and The Indian Express in the past. He specialises in longform reportage at the intersections of politics, crime, social commentary and environment.Read More

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