Kalpetta: Among the 16 candidates in the fray for the Wayanad Lok Sabha byelection, 11 are from outside Kerala, the data from the Election Commission reveal. This means only five are from the state, making it possibly the highest number of outside candidates in the field.
The poll panel has accepted their candidature and has allotted symbols to be displayed on voting machines.
There are three candidates each from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, one each from New Delhi (Priyanka Gandhi), Gujarat and Telangana, and two from Uttar Pradesh.
When Rahul Gandhi debuted here in 2019, there were only four outside candidates in a field of 20. But there were three Gandhis — K M Sivarpasad Gandhi, Raghul Gandhi K E and Rahul Gandhi K — other than Congress leaders. This time, his sister Priyanka is not facing the dummy menace (or namesake candidate to confuse voters). But there is one Gopal Swaroop Gandhi.
Those from Tamil Nadu are A Noor Muhammed, K Padmarajan, and A Seetha Kaur, and those from Karnataka are Rukmini, Ismayil Zabiullah and Shaik Jaleel. Jayendra K Rathod (Gujarat), Gopal Swaroop Gandhi, Sonu Singh Yadav (both from UP), and Duggirala Nageswara Rao from Hyderabad complete the list of outside candidates.
Padmarajan and Gopal Gandhi have contested against Rahul Gandhi earlier.
Some enter the fray for the instant fame of competing against a famous opponent, while others use this as a platform to air their political message to the masses.
While Padmarajan belonged to the first category, Seetha aims to highlight the need for more rights for Dalits and tribals, and Shaik Jaleel wants to campaign for a 12 per cent reservation for Muslims in the country.
The five candidates from Kerala include LDF candidate Sathyan Mokeri, Sree Achutham and the BJP candidate Navya Haridas.
