Thiruvananthapuram: Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Tuesday criticised Rahul Gandhi for relinquishing the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, saying that he is trying to convert the constituency into a family property. 

Rahul Gandhi on Monday announced that he would relinquish Wayanad, prompting the Congress to nominate his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to run for the seat. 

"This is blatant cheating by Rahul to the voters at Wayanad. In all fairness, he should have informed people at Wayanad during campaigning itself that he may vacate the seat in case he wins the other. But he waited for the voting to finish in Wayanad and when it was over, then only he announced his decision to contest the Raebareli seat. This is nothing but cheating," Muraleedharan held. 

Rahul Gandhi secured victory again in the Wayanad seat, although his margin decreased this time. He won by over 4.30 lakh votes in 2019, but this reduced to 3.6 lakh votes in the 2024 polls.

Meanwhile, K Surendran, the State BJP president who emerged third in the general elections, commented that as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is set to contest from Wayanad, the Gandhi family might also reserve the Palakkad Assembly seat in the upcoming by-poll for Robert Vadra. IANS