Congress has Southern comfort: Why Wayanad makes sense for Rahul Gandhi

Wayanad parliamentary constituency has a high Muslim population and widespread agricultural distress, strengthening Rahul Gandhi's chances in elections.

With Rahul Gandhi contesting from Wayanad and his family borough Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, the traditional Congress bastion in Kerala is likely to be a safe haven for the Congress president in more ways than one.

Ever since Wayanad was carved out as a separate parliamentary seat after the 2009 delimitation exercise by the Election Commission of India (ECI), Congress leader MI Shanavas has won two general elections here. In the 2009 and 2014 elections, Shanavas swept every single assembly constituency in Wayanad by garnering almost half the votes.

That’s got a lot to do with the religious composition of Wayanad parliamentary