The Kalpetta police registered a case in connection with posters put up near the gate of the Wayanad District Congress Committee (DCC) office on May 13 against the Congress high command, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. The posters criticised them for allegedly supporting KC Venugopal in the run-up to the selection of the Chief Minister during discussions held in New Delhi.

The posters targeted the Gandhi siblings, warning them that if they supported KC Venugopal, they could “forget Wayanad,” which, according to the posters, would soon become “another Amethi” for them.

The posters appeared on the 10th day after the announcement of the election results and were also seen as a protest against the delay in finalising the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate, as senior Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala, and VD Satheesan were reportedly in contention for the post.

The posters, pasted on the board of Rajiv Bhavan, the DCC office, carried messages such as: “Rahul and Priyanka, forget Wayanad, you won’t win again from here”, “Mr Rahul, KC might be your bag bearer, but the people of Kerala will not forgive you”, “PG (Priyanka Gandhi) and RG (Rahul Gandhi), this is not a warning; Kerala will never forgive you for this blunder”, and “Wayanad will be the next Amethi.”

The posters suggest that Rahul Gandhi, who lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, could face a similar defeat in Wayanad.

Meanwhile, the police have collected footage from CCTV cameras installed in nearby buildings. Police said that though the act of pasting the posters was captured on camera, it has been difficult to identify those involved, as their faces were not visible.

However, Wayanad DCC president TJ Isaac told Onmanorama that the complaint submitted to the police was part of the party’s internal disciplinary process. When asked whether the party was serious about pursuing the case, he said the party was unaware of the conspiracy behind the posters.

“We do not want to comment on the issue at this point,” he said.