Thiruvanathapuram: Saritha S Nair, the prime accused in multi-crore solar scandal, will be fighting as an Independent candidate against Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, the UDF contender in Kerala's Wayanad constituency. The new entrant has chosen Ernakulam as her second seat.
Nair, who had accused several high profile Congress leaders in the state of sexual harassment and rape, has decided to take on the Gandhi scion to as a mark of her protest "for not responding to her letters that sought action against the party leaders facing charges".
According to the election commission directive, the independent candidate has published an advertisement in Kerala newspapers regarding her candidature, in which she has listed 28 criminal cases against her.
Nair, who filed nomination for Ernakulam constituency last week, challenging Hibi Eden, one of the accused, had claimed that she has been writing several mails and faxes to Congress chief for a year, demanding action against 12 party leaders who have been accused of sexual harassment. "As a person trying to be the prime minister of the country, Rahul Gandhi should have responded to a woman's grievances,” she told reporters.
Nair said she is not fighting the polls to become an MP or sit in the Lok Sabha. "I have always been labelled as a cheater. I'm fighting the elections to mock and shame the politicians who have criminal charges levelled against them," she said.
The Independent candidate had allegedly floated a fictitious company in 2011 promising imported solar panels and stakes and allegedly cheated many. She had accused over ten top Congress leaders of sexually abusing her. The Congress denied the charges and called the charges politically motivated and baseless.
PP Suneer of Communist Party of India (CPI) and Thushar Vellappally, president of BJP-ally Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BJDS) are the other key candidates from Wayanad.
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