Ground Report From Wayanad — Where Rahul Gandhi Is Being Challenged By BJP's K Surendran And CPI's Annie Raja

Wayanad, a picturesque Lok Sabha constituency, nestled among the hills of the Western Ghats in the northeastern part of Kerala, first came into the national political discourse in 2019, when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi chose it as his second seat.

Five years later, in 2024, the seat is drawing attention for two factors — the first being the candidature of Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI), which is part of the INDI Alliance at the national level and the second being the high profile nature of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, K Surendran.

Surendran, who rose to prominence during the Sabarimala agitation, is also the state president of the party.

Swarajya spent a couple of days in the constituency to speak with the candidates and also understand what do the people of Wayanad think about Gandhi’s performance as MP, the issues in the constituency, the fact that two INDI Alliance partners were sparring against each other and most importantly, who do they think would win this time. 

My journey to Kalpetta, the headquarters of Wayanad district, began from Kozhikode in a KSRTC bus on the morning of 23 April.

A short while into the journey, I asked a co-passenger, named Madhu K, how long it would take to reach there. “Around two hours,” he said. Little did I know then that my query would be the beginning of a long conversation with him about the constituency, that would act as a primer for me. 

A short while later, curious about my purpose of visit, he asked me if I had been here before. After getting to know that I am a journalist, he said, “Our constituency has been getting a lot of attention since Rahul Gandhi stood here but we haven’t got any benefit. People voted him to power with a record margin thinking he might become the Prime Minister but he is hardly seen here.”

“Are you a resident of Kalpetta?” I asked.

“I am from the area but live abroad. I am an NRI based in Oman,” he replied.

When I asked him if he thinks Rahul Gandhi will win again or if there was widespread dissatisfaction against the leader, he said, “Yes. He will win again but the margin will be reduced. BJP’s K Surendran and CPI’s Annie Raja will poll more votes.”

Continuing further, he said, “I would like Surendran to win. But his victory is difficult. Only Modi ji and BJP can bring development here.”

A short while later, the landscape changed and we were greeted by the sight of lush green forests. The temperature began to drop.

“We have arrived at the ghat road,” Madhu said.

“From here we begin the ascent to Kalpetta. This ghat road has nine hairpin bends and is prone to blockages, especially when there are a lot of tourists, or during the weekends.”

Our conversation then veered towards the area's history — how the British discovered the route from Kozhikode to Wayanad by following a local shepherd and the rebellion of Pazhassy Raja, (a local ruler) against Tipu Sultan and the English East India Company.

Arriving at Kalpetta, I bid goodbye to Madhu and made my way to my first stop of the day, which was the local NDA (National Democratic Alliance) office. There I met Binu Padmam, a Bharatiya Janata Party member who had been my point of contact for meeting Surendran.

Surendran was wrapping up his interaction with the press when I entered.

Greeting me warmly, he asked me to accompany him in his car for a while as he began the day’s campaign. 

“You should have come earlier. The campaign is ending tomorrow,” he said.

What caught my attention was his easy accessibility, unlike what I had imagined would be the case with the state president of a party. 

Surendran’s first stop was at Leo Hospital, where he met some patients and hospital officials. During the journey, I spoke with him about his candidature, what he thought about Rahul Gandhi’s performance, what would be his top priorities and the issue regarding the name of Sultan Bathery town. (The conversation has been published in the form of an interview in another piece, which can be read here.)

Following this we stopped for a short break during which the team had tea and snacks.

The next programme was at Vattachola near Vaduvanchal, in which he was to address a gathering of around 30-40 people, which included party members as well as the public.

Here I spoke with K S Sumeesh, who said that he was not from the BJP.

Asked about who he thought would win, he said, "This is a Congress seat. However hard the others try, Rahul Gandhi will win. The only thing that can be said is that his margin would reduce.”

Asked if he was satisfied with the work done by Gandhi as a Member of Parliament, he replied in the negative. 

"What do you want from the person who gets elected?" I asked.

"The roads in rural areas like where we are now, have to be improved," he said.

Joining our conversation, Unnikrishnan, a panchayat member from the BJP said, “While we are putting in a lot of effort to build our organisational strength, the LDF (Left Democratic Front) and UDF (United Democratic Front) are able to attract a lot of youngsters because of their ability to provide some benefits to their members like recruitment in government jobs, contracts etc. This is making them strong."

Returning to Kalpetta after this, I met Binu at the office, where he gave me some details about the constituency. 

“This constituency has seven assembly segments — Kalpetta, Sulthan Bathery (ST) and Mananthavady (ST) in Wayanad district, Thiruvambadi in Kozhikode district and Nilmabur, Wandoor (SC) and Ernad in Malappuram.

“While minorities form the majority, there is also a significant population of Scheduled Tribes."

Among the Scheduled Tribes, there are different groups — Kurichiya and Kuruma, which can be considered the upper adivasi groups, Paniyas (most populous) and Kattunayakans. The latter two have been supporters of the communists.”

I asked him if the the tribal communities support the BJP and if the party was making any promises particularly for them.

“Yes, we do receive their support. Many of them have benefited from the Modi government’s schemes. There are many party leaders from the tribal communities. 

“Some of the major issues they face are regarding land (which is not getting proper records for the areas they own) and health. We have promised to work with them to set things right. For healthcare, we plan to launch mobile hospitals as some of these adivasi settlements are 6-7 hours away from the nearest big medical college in Kozhikode.

“At present, the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), through Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, is operating mobile hospitals in these areas.”

“For education and employment, we plan to set up Sainik schools, archery training, skill development centres and also bring the IT industry. Bringing IT sector here should not be very difficult as Bangalore and Mysore are not very far.”

A party functionary, who did not wish to be named, said, “While it would be tough for Surendran to win, we are looking at a minimum of crossing 2 lakh votes, which would be a vote share of 15 per cent. The last time we received around 78,000 votes.”

Swarajya then asked where these increased votes will come from, the UDF kitty or the LDF kitty?

“From both. We are going to receive votes from Christians who are traditionally supporters of the UDF and also Hindus who voted thinking Rahul Gandhi will become prime minister. From the LDF’s share we expect some part of the Nair and Ezhava vote.”

Asked about whether the contradictory nature of the INDI Alliance was being seen on the ground, Binu said, “Of course. Rahul Gandhi reportedly walked out of a meeting with a bishop in Mananthavady because he was questioned about the issue."

“Within the UDF also, there is unhappiness among Muslim League workers over restrictions on using the green flags of the latter during rallies.”

Continuing the conversation, Binu said that they are looking to have an alternative to the Thamarassery Ghat road which presently connects the town to Kozhikode and are also proposing an elevated highway on the Bandipur road (the one affected by night curfew).

“We should be able to make it. While some of it is forest land, the rest is private land and the owners have agreed to allow the project,” he said speaking about the alternative road.

I then asked him if the cooperative bank scams have made an impact on the minds of people here. 

“Yes. There is a case in this district also. The ED (Enforcement Directorate) is probing a scam in the Pulpally cooperative. But here the difference is that it is the Congress which is involved.”

Near the office, I met Shivashankar P R, a spokesperson for the party. He said, “I would like to mention something about the manifesto of the Left. While they have gone to town saying that the conflict in Manipur was religious in nature and Christian Kukis were attacked by Hindu Meiteis, in their manifesto they use the word ‘ethnic’ while describing the conflict.”

The next morning I went to Mananthavady, a town around 30 kilometres from Kalpetta. Here, the BJP had organised a roadshow in which K Annamalai, the party’s Tamil Nadu state president was to take part.

“This is the final roadshow in Wayanad. Earlier, Union minister Smriti Irani, BJP chief J P Nadda and Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Chief Minister of Assam had come,” said Binu, who was accompanying me. 

“The idea is to have roadshows in different parts of the constituency by bringing in big leaders in order to get traction for the party all over Wayanad.”

“Mananthavady is also where Pazhassy Raja is buried. He lost his life in a battle with the English East India Company. There is also a museum about the history of the place and his rebellion.”

This correspondent noticed several such posters of Rahul Gandhi, in which he is seen consoling people or hugging them.

At the roadshow, I met, Lakshmi and Sarada, who are BJP members from Mananthavady. Asked who would win, they said, “Surendran will win. People have benefited from the good schemes done by the Modi government and have understood that Rahul Gandhi will not be available after the elections."

Arjunan K R, Sunil and Shankaran, also party members from nearby areas, nodded in agreement.

Annamalai was to arrive by helicopter from Karnataka, where he had been campaigning the previous day. 

I spoke to a few shop owners on the route of the roadshow to gauge what they thought about the elections. 

Mohammad Ali, the owner of a fruit shop, said, "The BJP and CPI are fighting it out because there is a formality called election. Even they know that they will not win."

Asked whom he was supporting, he said, "This is the reality irrespective of whom I support. What I can tell you that the BJP's vote share will increase due to Surendran's candidature. Rahul's margin would reduce."

I asked if there was anything in particular that he wanted for Mananthavady or if there were any issues which the common people are struggling with.

"There is nothing major here. We are satisfied," he said.

Further down the road, I spoke with Shafi M S, who owns a mobile shop. He stated that he was a supporter of Rahul Gandhi.

I asked him if he could list some works done by Gandhi for Wayanad.

Responding to Swarajya's question, Shafi did not list any contributions of the incumbent MP. Instead, he said,"Rahul Gandhi is a good person. He has done good for us."

The roadshow began soon after Annamalai arrived. Amidst songs in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government at the Centre, party workers raised slogans like 'Jai Jai Bolo BJP, Jai Jai Bolo K Surendran.'

A lot of the party’s supporters and the common public had gathered to see it. Annamalai, undoubtedly, was a huge draw. 

Addressing the crowd in Tamil, which a lot of people in the constituency understand due to the proximity to Tamil Nadu, Annamalai said, “Surendran will work with the Modi government to bring development here. He won’t be like Rahul Gandhi. He will be available to you anytime and will live with you.”

Surendran reiterated the same and also stated that it was only the BJP that was fighting the real fight in Kerala, while the INDI Alliance was indulging in a drama.

After the speech, this correspondent was able to speak with Annamalai for a few moments at the hotel where he was staying as he had to leave soon for his next programme in Shimoga.

By now I was also curious to know more about Pazhassy Raja and so I visited the museum mentioned by Binu.

On the way back to Kalpetta, Suresh, a farmer from a village near Mananthavady, said, “Rahul Gandhi will win. Everyone else is fighting for vote share. Rahul's margin will reduce to two lakh." He, however, declined to answer whom he supported.

Near Kalpetta, there was a traffic diversion and so I had to walk a few hundred metres into the town. Noticing an Ayyappa temple on the way, I went in to have darshan of the deity. 

The temple priests, Mani and Vishnu, I found out were supporters of the BJP and the CPI respectively. “Surendran should win. Only he can bring development,” said Mani. He then went on to list out the issues in the constituency. 

Nodding his head in agreement regarding the issues spoken about by Mani, Vishnu said that the CPI is who he thinks would be able to resolve them.

“Annie Raja is a good candidate,” he added.

Soon after I left the temple, I noticed what could have been the reason for the diversion of traffic — a programme organised by the UDF to celebrate the end of what they considered a successful campaign. The time was 5.45pm and the campaign was to end at 6pm as per the rules laid down by the Election Commission.

“Just 15 minutes remain”, said Abdul Jaleel, a secretary of a local transport union of the Muslim League. 

Asked if he thinks that Rahul Gandhi would win, Jaleel said, “There is no doubt about his victory. What we are working for is to take his margin above 5 lakh. The last time he won by around 4 and half lakh votes.”

He then went on to say that it was important to elect the Congress for the common man as things had become costly under the LDF and Modi governments.

“Electricity, water and property taxes have gone up under the Left. Look at the price of gas and petrol. The Modi government has not been able to reduce it. These are the important issues. What will happen if Surendran renames Sultan Bathery as Ganapathi Vattam? It will not improve our lives, he said.

Hearing that I had come from Delhi, he added, “Your CM Arvind Kejriwal is good. He has made electricity free. Bus travel for women is also free there.”

I then asked him if Rahul Gandhi would win Wayanad if the Muslim League does not support him.

To this he said, “Yes. Because people here are not voting for the party. They are voting for Rahul Gandhi, the person. People see him as a big leader, someone who is from the illustrious Gandhi family.”

While we were speaking, the celebration came to an end and party workers started leaving the area. Pointing to two women, who passed by us, he said, “Meet Sreeja and Sajitha. Both of them are our councillors in Kalpetta municipality.”

He then added that his party, the Muslim League, had the support of Hindus as well and that there are a few councillors from the Scheduled Caste communities. Nodding in agreement, Sreeja raised her hand and said, ‘Jai Muslim League’ and that she was proud of her party.

Having spoken to Muslim League members, I reached the office of the UDF to understand what the Congress felt. Here, I met Mohammad Bava, who is a booth incharge of the party. 

Asked about the allegations by opposition parties stating that Rahul Gandhi has hardly done anything for Wayanad, Bava said, “They are wrong. Rahul Gandhi has done a lot for us. When our area was affected by floods, he had arranged for huge amounts of relief material. Rice, blankets, condiments — he sent everything. Recently, for one of the persons who lost his life after being attacked by an elephant, he arranged a compensation of Rs 15 lakh.”

He then showed me a booklet in Malayalam containing the achievements and promises of Rahul Gandhi. I noticed that it also promised the Nilambur-Nanjangud railway line.

"I heard that the Congress is targeting an over 5 lakh margin. How do you plan to achieve that?"

"We are spreading Rahul's message of love and peace (referring to the Mohabbat ki Dukan slogan) and speaking about his achievements amongst the people.

"Also there are about 175,000 new voters this time. These are all first time voters and we are confident of getting 1 lakh votes from them. Rahul is very popular among the youth."

Asked about the situation of the other candidates, he said, “You must have noticed our campaign ending celebration. All those people were from Kalpetta municipality itself. For other parties to arrange such a crowd, they will have to bring people from all over the district.”

I then put the same question to him that I had put to Jaleel but in a slightly different manner. 

“If the Muslim League decides to support the LDF, will Rahul Gandhi still win Wayanad?”

Answering my question, Bava acknowledged that it would be difficult unlike Jaleel, who had said that Rahul Gandhi would win based on personal fame.

“See, the League is strong in these parts. Three of the assembly constituencies are in Malappuram district, which is a district where the Muslim population is over 70 per cent.”

“The Congress is behind the League in numerical strength. In this room itself, only two of us are Congressmen. The rest of the people you saw while entering were all from the League. There are a good number of Muslims in the Congress but most are with the League. We all sit here together and work.”

Asked about the SDPI, a party member who did not wish to be named said, “We did not ask for their support. Even we too consider them to be extremists.”

(The SDPI, alleged to be the political arm of the now banned Popular Front of India (PFI) has declared support to the UDF. It has stated that this decision was taken internally and that the Congress had not sought their support. For an analysis of the issue, read here.)

Leaving the UDF office, I reached the office of the CPI, which is located towards the other end of the town. 

I was told that Annie Raja, the CPI candidate, had come to the office as the campaign had ended and I could speak to her. 

(The conversation with her in which she spoke about why she felt that Rahul Gandhi had committed a mistake by contesting against her from Wayanad, his work as an MP and what she thought of the BJP candidate has been published in a separate piece, which can be read here.)

At the office, I also spoke with Shameer Babu T P, who works with the CPI and has an IT company. Asked about how he saw the electoral dynamics playing out, he said, “Annie Raja has a good chance of winning. It is just that it is difficult to convince people because Rahul Gandhi won with a margin of around four and a half lakh last time. 

“There is unhappiness with his work as MP and his absence from the constituency. The Muslim League is also not happy that their green flags are not being allowed by Congress.

“Further, it must be kept in mind that before Rahul Gandhi came, the Congress candidate won by a margin of only around 20,000 votes. So if the people want, they can definitely take the Congress back to such a number or even make it lose.”

After leaving the CPI office, I spoke with Murthy and Petchiyammal, a couple originally from Tamil Nadu, who were selling lottery tickets from their roadside stall.

“Annie Raja or Surendran will win,” said Petchiyammal. 

“Not Rahul Gandhi?” I asked. 

“No. Because people are not happy with his work.”

I then asked him for how long he had been in Kerala.

“I have been here since a long time. I did my schooling here,” said Murthy, answering my question. “We vote here, have our ration cards here,” he added. 

I then asked them to tell me what they liked about Kerala.

“There is one thing that we feel is praiseworthy in Kerala. There is little role of money in getting votes unlike there. People mostly vote based on ideology,” they said.

After dinner, I spoke with Ajith A K, who works in a medical shop. Ajith, an LDF supporter, also said that Rahul Gandhi would win. 

Asked about the issues faced by the people in the constituency, Ajith says that the most important are the night curfew on roads to Karnataka and the need to go all the way to Kozhikode in case of medical emergencies. 

I inquired about the significance of the night curfew matter and mentioned hearing about the existence of an alternative route.

“It is indeed very important. Through the alternative road, it could take almost two hours more. Because of the traffic restrictions during the night time, supplies to businesses are affected, there are fewer long distance buses and hotels, especially in the Sultan Bathery area are seeing reduced occupancy. Tourism has reduced.”

Speaking further, he said, “There is one hospital in Mananthavady which is being upgraded to a government medical college but it still does not have all the requirements.”

While we were speaking, we could hear an ambulance passing by. 

“You heard the ambulance siren? It is most likely going to Kozhikode. The only question is will it be able to reach in time. The ghat road, through which you too would have arrived here, is prone to getting blocked. There have been many cases of people dying because they could not reach the hospital on time.”

Signing off, he said, “Whoever wins, as a common man, I hope these issues get resolved after these elections.”

Gathering my thoughts on the way back, I concluded that most locals I spoke to are of the opinion that Rahul Gandhi would retain the seat but with a reduced margin. 

The BJP could see its vote share go up by a good percentage, while the CPI is expected to regain some of the vote share it lost to the UDF the last time due to the narrative that Rahul Gandhi could become the prime minister. 

The vote, except that of ideological supporters and party members, is majorly either a pro-Rahul or an anti-Rahul vote as the other two faces are also new to the constituency.

By the time this report reaches you, polling in Wayanad would be underway. The fate of each of the candidates would be sealed in the EVMs. But what’s in store for Wayanad — the seat at the centre of the nation's attention due to Rahul Gandhi, will be known only about a month later, on 4 June.

This report is part of Swarajya's 50 Ground Stories Project - an attempt to throw light on themes and topics that are often overlooked or looked down. You can support this initiative by sponsoring as little as ₹2999. Click here for more details.