Rahul Gandhi's helicopter inspected by ECI in Tamil Nadu
A helicopter carrying senior Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Monday was inspected by the Election Commission of India's flying squad officials in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. The inspection took place after the aircraft had landed in Nilgiris, as confirmed by local police. This occurred while Gandhi was en route to his parliamentary constituency, Wayanad in Kerala, for campaign activities. To recall, Gandhi is contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Wayanad and is seeking a successive term.
Gandhi's road show in Wayanad
Gandhi arrived at the Nilgiri Sports and Science College ground near Wayanad at approximately 10am. During his campaign in Wayanad last week, he led a grand roadshow in Sultan Bathery, drawing in a massive crowd of supporters. Riding in an open vehicle, he warmly greeted the throngs of people. Gandhi is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at a massive rally of the United Democratic Front in Kozhikode at 6pm on Monday.
ECI officials search RaGa's helicopter
Gandhi to face CPI and BJP candidates in elections
The upcoming Lok Sabha elections will take place from April 19 to June 1, across seven phases to elect representatives for the 18th Lok Sabha with results announced on June 4. Gandhi will face the Communist Party of India (CPI)'s Annie Raja and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president, K Surendran. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi emerged victorious from Wayanad with a significant margin of over 431,000 votes, the highest in Kerala. He secured a vote share of 64.94%.
Most nominations from Kerala in Lok Sabha polls
Kerala, with its 20 constituencies, is set to vote on April 26 as part of the second phase of the Lok Sabha election. The most nominations in the second phase were received from Kerala, with 500 nominations for 20 constituencies. Karnataka followed closely behind with 491 nominations for 14 seats. It is pertinent to note that the Congress led the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) has said that it will reveal its prime ministerial candidate after the polls.
