BJP pits Surendran in Wayanad to prevent a Rahul walkover

KOZHIKODE: The BJP national leadership has, with its surprise decision to field party state president K Surendran against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad constituency, put up a strong candidate against the party's political bete-noire. It looks to turn the electoral battle in the high-profile constituency into a thorough political one, especially when two national-level leaders of INDIA bloc are already in the fray.
More importantly, the party hopes it could rub into the contradictions in INDIA bloc by fielding its tallest leader in state against Rahul Gandhi.Surendran's candidature will also endow the election campaign in the UDF stronghold with its share of optics.
The signs of the no-holds-barred approach that Surendran would bring to the campaign against Rahul was on show in his first response itself, after his candidature was announced. He said Rahul was coming to the constituency just like a person on a tourist visa. "Wayanad constituency has many development challenges and now only Prime Minister Narendra Modi can solve it," he said.