Outsiders dominate Wayanad LS by-election race
Deccan ChronicleWayanad : Kerala has a history of electing leaders from outside the state as Lok Sabha MPs, with former Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi being the latest, and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might join the list if the electors here give her the thumbs up in the November 13 by-poll. Among them is "Election King" K Padmarajan from Tamil Nadu, who earned the moniker following his over 200 unsuccessful electoral bids, including against top leaders and former Prime Ministers AB Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, besides PM Narendra Modi. The other out-of-state candidates in the Wayanad by-election include Independent A Noor Muhammed from Tamil Nadu, Gopal Swaroop Gandhi of the Kisan Majdoor Berojgar Sangh from Uttar Pradesh and A Seetha of the Bahujan Dravida Party from Tamil Nadu. "I have even contested against four prime ministers: Narendra Modi in Vadodara in 2014, Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow, P V Narasimha Rao in 1996, and Manmohan Singh in the Rajya Sabha election," he said.