All eyes on Rahul Gandhi as he begins two-day Wayanad visit today

Gandhi, who contested from two Lok Sabha constituencies this election, emphatically won from Wayanad but shockingly lost his traditional Amethi seat to BJP’s Smriti Irani.

PIC: Congress president Rahul Gandhi (Twitter account)

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi, who is firm on stepping down as Congress president, is on a three-day visit to Wayanad, his new Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. Gandhi tweeted this moring: "I will be in Wayanad, Kerala starting this afternoon and till Sunday to meet citizens & Congress Party workers. It’s a packed schedule with over 15 public receptions planned over the next 3 days." Gandhi, who contested from two Lok Sabha constituencies this election, emphatically won from Wayanad but shockingly lost his traditional Amethi seat to BJP’s Smriti Irani. This is the first visit of Gandhi to his constituency after winning the Lok Sabha seat. Post Lok Sabha rout, Gandhi had categorically asked the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, to select a new party chief. He asserted that the new president should be from outside his family, ruling out the possibility of Sonia Gandhi or his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra taking up the post.

I will be in Wayanad, Kerala starting this afternoon and till Sunday to meet citizens & Congress Party workers. It’s a packed schedule with over 15 public receptions planned over the next 3 days. pic.twitter.com/1r71RsgI9X

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 7, 2019

Senior Congress leaders and various state units have requested Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation and continue as party president. They believe Gandhi has the "capability, honesty, integrity" to lead the party and also the country forward. Meanwhile, a Chinese delegation, led by a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and comprising officials of the Chinese Embassy, met Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and held discussions on the ties between India and China. The delegation called on the two Congress leaders at Sonia Gandhi's 10, Janpath residence here. Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma was also present on the occasion, reported PTI.