Saritha S Nair, one of the accused in the multi crore solar scam, will contest for the Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad constituency against Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who is the UDF candidate. This is in addition to Ernakulam where she will be taking on UDF candidate Hibi Eden as declared earlier.
Wayanad has gained national prominence after Rahul Gandhi’s candidature was announced from there. With Saritha deciding to contest from the constituency, the controversies surrounding Congress in the state in relation to the solar scam are likely to come into the limelight again. The rival parties will also possibly make use of the opportunity of Saritha’s candidature to campaign against Congress while attempting to take on Rahul Gandhi.
Talking to TNM on the issue, Saritha said that she was not contesting the election with an eye on a parliamentary seat. “I am only accused in a financial scandal but some in the Congress who are contesting for the polls are accused in much more serious crimes like sexual abuse against women. These people often escape and become people’s representatives. I am contesting to make people realise this,” she said.
Saritha will file her nominations for contesting from Wayanad on Thursday and from Ernakulam on Wednesday.
Thusahar Vellappally, president of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), is the NDA candidate from Wayanad, while PP Suneer is the LDF candidate.
Last week, Saritha had openly come out against MLA Hibi Eden —UDF candidate in Ernakulam, declaring that her fight was explicitly against him. Saritha also said that through her campaigning, she will remind people about the real face of UDF candidates.
The solar scam arose in 2013 when the Oommen Chandy-led Congress government was in power. Saritha, who was one of the directors of a company called Team Solar Renewable Energy Solutions, was accused of cheating investors of crores for a solar power project.