"This election is a fight for democracy and for the Constitution of India": Rahul Gandhi Files Nomination for Lok Sabha Polls from Wayanad

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday filed his nomination from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. He was accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other senior party leaders, including AICC general secretary K C Venugopal. The nomination papers were submitted to the Wayanad District Collector, who also serves as the Returning Officer. After the submission, Rahul recited the oath to uphold the Constitution, completing the process.

Upon arriving in Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi embarked on a roadshow from Kalpetta to Civil Station before heading to the District Collector's office. Prior to his nomination submission, he addressed the public during the roadshow, expressing solidarity with the people of Wayanad on various issues, including human-animal conflicts that stands as a pressing.

"This election is a fight for democracy and for the Constitution of India. On one side are the forces that want to destroy the democracy of this country and the Constitution of this country. And on the other side, there is a force that is protecting the Constitution and protecting the democratic nature of our country. It's very clear to all of you who is on which side. It is very clear who's attacking the Constitution, who is attacking the democratic structure of this country," said Gandhi.

In his address, he assured the constituents of his continuous support and promised to bring their concerns to the national and global forefront. He emphasized his readiness to address the challenges faced by the hill constituency.

The senior Congress is set to contest against BJP state president K Surendran and CPI leader Annie Raja for the Wayanad LS seat, which he won in 2019 with a significant margin of over four lakh votes. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul secured a massive victory, receiving 7,06,367 votes out of a total of 10,92,197, while his closest rival, CPI's P P Suneer, managed only 2,74,597 votes. The elections in Kerala are scheduled for April 26.