After a three-day private visit to Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, who chairs the Congress Parliamentary Party, departed for New Delhi on Monday, September 22, 2025. Their chartered flight took off from Calicut International Airport around 11 a.m. Originally, they had planned to travel by helicopter from Wayanad to the airport, but due to adverse weather conditions, they were required to proceed by road.
The Gandhis’ visit, which commenced on Friday, September 19, overlapped with the week-long public engagement program of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Wayanad MP and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary. Ms. Vadra is also scheduled to leave from Calicut Airport on Monday night, following the completion of her commitments in the Malappuram district.
Despite the private nature of their visit, Mr. Gandhi took the opportunity to hold informal discussions on the political climate in Kerala with K.C. Venugopal, AICC general secretary (Organisation), and Sunny Joseph, president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. These talks also focused on addressing ongoing challenges within the Wayanad District Congress Committee, including recent issues such as the tragic suicides of local leaders, including that of treasurer M.N. Vijayan and his son, approximately nine months prior.
During their stay on Saturday, Mr. Gandhi, accompanied by his sister Ms. Vadra, inaugurated an auditorium dedicated to the memory of the late Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy at the Kottathara grama panchayat in Wayanad. Additionally, Ms. Vadra and her mother visited the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation at Puthoorvayal near Meppadi, where they explored the nursery and arboretum, and participated in a symbolic sapling planting ceremony.