Rahul Gandhi a tourist in Wayanad, says Himanta Biswa Sarma

The BJP on Monday deployed Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Rahul Gandhi's most vocal critic, in Wayanad constituency of Kerala where Himanta launched a scathing attack on the Congress leader.
Leading a roadshow in Kerala's Malappuram to support BJP candidate K Surendran for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, Himanta said Gandhi 'visits Kerala as a tourist' and has no love for Wayand and its people while Surendran is 'son of the soil' and is the true representative of the people of the constituency.
“Rahul is not an MP. He is a tourist in Wayanad. Why will you vote for a tourist?," Sarma asked the crowd. He added, "Surendran will be a responsible voice for Wayanad, unlike the incumbent who came here in the pursuit of a safe seat," Himanta said.
The Assam CM accused Gandhi of using the Wayanad seat just to keep his luxurious home in Lutyen's Delhi. "He has been an absentee MP. This time, the people will teach him a lesson for taking them for granted," he said.
BJP's contest is with AIUDF in Nagaon, Karimganj: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said BJP's fight is with Badruddin Ajmal's AIUDF in Nagaon and Karimganj, the only two Lok Sabha seats in Assam where the saffron party is "facing a contest", and claimed that Congress is nowhere in the picture.
In 11 of the 14 seats in Assam, there is no contest. We have almost gained control in the other two seats - Nagaon and Karimganj - where the road seemed challenging for BJP initially. But our contest is with AIUDF in Nagaon and Karimganj. Congress is not even in the picture," Sarma said while campaigning in Diphu Lok Sabha constituency. He, however, refrained from commenting on Dhubri seat where Muslim voters will play a decisive role like in Nagaon and Karimganj.
Ajmal is contesting the polls in Dhubri, where BJP ally Asom Gana Parishad has fielded its candidate.
Barring one seat (indicating Dhubri), Sarma said BJP progressed ahead in all other seats in the state. "In Nagaon and Karimganj, we are improving day by day," he added.
An estimated 51% of the total voters in Nagaon are Muslims, while the corresponding figure of Muslim voters in Karimganj and Dhubri are 62% and about 85% respectively.
Karimganj and Nagaon will go to the polls on April 26. Elections will be held in Dhubri in the third phase on May 7.
Pradyut Bordoloi of Congress won from Nagaon in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, while BJP's Kripanath Mallah won from Karimganj in 2019. Ajmal represents the Dhubri seat.
Sarma said minorities and other communities are benefiting from Modi govt. "Everyone likes him because they reaped benefits under him," he added.
The Assam CM asserted that BJP will register a clean sweep in five seats - Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, Kaziranga and Jorhat - where polls were held in the first phase on April 19.
Meanwhile, Assam PCC chief Bhupen Borah told mediapersons that people have voted in favour of the Congress-led alliance in five seats decisively but silently.