Rahul Gandhi To Visit Wayanad On Tuesday, First Time Since Being Disqualified As MP

Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha last month after a Surat court found him guilty in a defamation case.

New Delhi: After getting disqualified from the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be visiting his constituency, Wayanad on Tuesday where he will hold a roadshow. The Congress is putting in all its efforts to give him a grand welcome and make it a show of strength. According to the local party leaders, Gandhi will be accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who last came for the election campaign in 2019.

The Gandhis will land at Kannur airport and from there will reach Kalpetta, the district headquarters of Wayanad district on a helicopter.

At Kalpetta, the party is conducting a massive roadshow from his office, which he used to frequent when in Kalpetta when he was the MP.

And at 4 p.m. a public meeting is also being arranged and all the top Congress leaders of the state will be present there.

Gandhi had won the Wayanad seat with a staggering margin of over four lakh votes.

His visit also adds significance as it happens a few days after veteran Congressman A.K. Antony`s elder son Anil Antony joined the BJP.

Meanwhile, Gandhi`s appeal on the conviction will be heard on April 13 at the Surat court. 

He is on bail, which was extended by the Sessions Court in Gujarat. The court will hear his appeal against conviction in the case on April 13.

On March 23, a lower court in Surat found him guilty of defaming the entire Modi community in a case filed by BJP MLA Purnesh Modi. The former Congress president was subsequently disqualified from the Lok Sabha under a rule that bars convicted MPs from holding Lok Sabha membership.

Gandhi was given the maximum 2-year jail term for his offence, but the sentence was suspended for 30 days for him to file an appeal against the order. 

If the conviction is not overturned, he will be disqualified from contesting elections for the next eight years.