Shaly Paul says her husband was a big admirer of Rahul Gandhi. “Once he brought home a calendar that had Rahul’s photos,” she says. “He wished to meet Rahul in person, but, unfortunately, that wish remained unfulfilled.” Her husband, Paul V.P., died in an elephant attack on February 16.
“Following his demise, Rahul Gandhi visited our partially built house,” she says. “He noticed the calendar. He asked my daughter, Sona, what we needed. She said: ‘What my father would have provided’.”
Paul, 50, was a contract-watcher at the Kuruva Island, an ecotourism destination. He was trampled by an elephant near the tourist spot. A resident of Pakkom village in Wayanad’s Kalpetta, Paul was the second person to die in wild elephant attacks in Wayanad in February. He was taken to the Mananthavady Medical College, which was not equipped to handle his critical condition. He was later transferred by road to Kozhikode Medical College, nearly 100km away. On the day of the incident, Rahul was in Uttar Pradesh, leading the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, heading towards his former constituency Amethi.
In the aftermath of Paul’s death, typically tranquil Wayanad erupted. In Pulpally, the town closest to Pakkom, hundreds of people gathered, demanding a lasting solution to wildlife attacks, which had claimed 149 lives and left over 1,000 injured since 2014. Tensions escalated as Paul’s body was brought to the town. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the BJP-led NDA called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the district, each attributing blame to the others. Rahul, who had made only a handful of visits to the constituency since becoming MP, flew down; temporarily suspending his yatra.
His main opponent in the upcoming elections, CPI national executive member Annie Raja, has been harping on the incumbent’s absence in her campaign. Her appeal to the voters, especially women, is “kindly give me a chance to stand with you”. Annie, who is already well into her campaign, told THE WEEK that people across Wayanad were asking her the same question. “Some very politely, but others quite sternly,” she says. “They ask, ‘Will you be here after the election? Will you come and see us?’ I ask why they were asking this question and they reply, ‘Elephants have visited Wayanad many times; our MP, not even half as often’.”
BJP state president K. Surendran, who is contesting from Wayanad and claims he will put up a tough fight (the BJP has never secured 10 per cent vote share in the Wayanad parliamentary constituency), is also highlighting Rahul’s unavailability and has tried to club Annie in the same category. They are, in his words, “tourists to Wayanad”, which, in fact, is a hot tourist spot.
During his visit on February 17, Rahul first went to the house of Panachiyil Ajeesh―the casualty of the elephant attack 10 days before the attack on Paul. At Paul’s house, he offered assistance in the repair and construction of a compound wall―the house is close to the forest. When THE WEEK visited Pakkom, the repairs were progressing rapidly, with the aim of being completed before Paul’s 40th remembrance day. The state government has announced Rs10 lakh as immediate relief to the family and has also offered Shaly a permanent job. For two weeks following Paul’s death, there was a steady stream of political leaders visiting the house. Shaly, who was schooled only till class seven, remains sceptical about the promises. “After polls, there would not be any urgency for politicians to fulfil the promises,” she says. “We told Rahul Gandhi that no other family should face the same fate as ours.”
There had been speculation about whether Rahul would contest from the constituency again. Over the last six months, several left leaders, including the national leadership of the CPI and the CPI(M), expressed disapproval over the prospect of him contesting from Kerala, where the contest is between the LDF and the UDF. In September 2023, the Congress’s INDIA partner CPI urged Rahul not to contest from Wayanad. Giving the ticket to a national leader like Annie well in advance―on February 26―was also seen as an attempt to pressure the Congress into not fielding Rahul.
By March 1, Annie, whose party has had a better relationship with the Congress than the CPI(M) over decades, began her campaign in the constituency. But, all of this did not deter the grand old party from nominating the Gandhi scion once again.
Wayanad is one of Kerala’s less politically charged parliamentary constituencies. Though the constituency has seven assembly segments, only three are within the district. The other four are in Kozhikode and Malappuram (one and three, respectively). Wayanad district has 6.24 lakh voters and the segments in the other two districts have 8.05 lakh voters.
In 2019, Rahul had won with a margin of 4,31,770 votes, a record in Kerala. The Congress has three assembly seats and its ally the Indian Union Muslim League has one. The LDF has the other three seats.
In the areas outside Wayanad district, there is a significant minority population and human-animal conflict issues are less prevalent. In these segments, the Citizenship Amendment Act is projected as the major issue by both the fronts. Nevertheless, all significant events pertaining to the general election typically unfold within Wayanad. Candidates usually prioritise the broader national political landscape, with both fronts aiming to challenge the NDA.
However, award-winning documentary filmmaker and writer O.K. Johnny, a native of Wayanad, told THE WEEK that this time, even though Wayanad’s specific issues may not determine the results, no contestant could ignore issues like the animal attacks as these affect the “right to life” of a large section of the electorate.
Political observers, like Johnny, predict a decrease in the margin of the Congress’s win. “Last time, a significant portion of the left-leaning and liberal population voted for Rahul Gandhi, seeing him as a national leader and the face of the national front against the BJP,” he says. “But now, with the entry of Annie Raja, Rahul Gandhi’s support from these sectors could diminish. She is poised to garner more votes than any previous left candidate because of her stature and her ability to connect with people. In fact, if it was not Rahul Gandhi contesting, she could have made the race in Wayanad even tighter.”
Political commentator N.M. Pearson says the novelty factor of Rahul’s candidacy had played a crucial role, not only in Wayanad but also across the state, in the 2019 general elections when the UDF won 19 out of 20 seats. “Now, voters are more grounded in their perception, meaning the traditional UDF vs LDF contest will prevail,” he says, adding that the UDF may not get the benefit of the anti-incumbency against the LDF government. “Anti-incumbency votes will be reflected in the elections,” he says. “But, a portion of these may shift to the BJP. Even if the BJP does not secure a single seat, its vote share in Kerala may increase. This could impact the results, ultimately aiding the LDF in winning more Lok Sabha seats, despite a potential decrease in their vote share.”