Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday filed his nomination papers for contesting Lok Sabha polls from Kerala’s Wayanad constituency.

The Congress leader submitted three sets of nomination papers before the Wayanad District Collector Dr. Renu Raj, also the returning officer at her office in Kalpetta.

He was accompanied by Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, Priyanka Gandhi, Opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan, senior Congress leaders Ramesh Chennithala, MM Hassan, and Muslim League leader PK Kunhalikutty accompanied him to the Collectorate for filing the nomination.

Kerala will go to polls on April 26 in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections to elect 20 MPs. CPI leader Annie Raja and BJP Kerala president K Surendran are Rahul’s main opponents. In the 2019 polls, Gandhi secured a landslide victory from the constituency with the highest margin of 4.31 lakh votes in the state. Rahul had polled 7,06,367 votes against his closest rival CPI’s P P Suneer’s 2,74,597 votes.

Before filing his nomination, Rahul held a massive roadshow in Kalpetta, marking the commencement of his election campaign in Wayanad. Thousands of UDF workers from all parts of the Wayanad constituency participated in the roadshow.

The roadshow evoked a massive response, similar to the roadshow he led in Kalpetta in 2019.

Braving the scorching heat, Rahul Gandhi, who was accompanied by Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi, K C Venugopal, and other UDF leaders, including Opposition leader V D Satheesan rode an open vehicle decked with the slogan “Rahulinoppam Indiakkay” (for India along with Rahul). The roadshow culminated at the Chandragiri Auditorium in Kalpetta.

Addressing his supporters, the Congress leader said he felt proud of being an MP from Wayanad. He said he would be with the people of Wayanad in solving their problems, including the wild animal menace.

Rahul further said he is always ready to bring the issues faced by the people of Wayanad to the attention of the nation and the world. “I am deeply grateful to the people of Wayanad for their unwavering support. I want to reaffirm my dedication to serving every one of you to the best of my abilities,” he asserted.

Earlier, Rahul arrived by helicopter at Thelakkal ground at Muppainad.