Wayanad: The Election Commission's flying squad and the police seized 30 food kits carrying the pictures of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi on Thursday at Tholpetty.

The kits, containing tea dust, sugar, rice, and other grocery items, also had pictures of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddharamaiah and Deputy CMD K Shivakumar. Manorama News reported that they were seized from a flour mill near the residence of a local Congress leader.

The seizure, which came to light hours after food kits given to flood victims in Meppadi panchayat were found to be infected with worms, has stirred up a political storm with the Left alleging that the kits were brought for distribution to voters in an attempt to influence them in favour of the Congress. The Lok Sabha bypoll will be held on November 13. The kits were labelled to be distributed to landslide victims, sources said.

However, the Congress said these were the same kits previously brought in for distribution to the survivors of the Wayanad landslide disaster on July 30.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi is the UDF candidate for the Wayanad by-polls, where she will be contesting against CPI's Sathyan Mokeri and BJP's Navya Haridas.