The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for not visiting Wayanad after a deadly landslide [1].

The dispute highlights the intense political friction in Kerala, where the BJP is using a humanitarian crisis to challenge the commitment of opposition leadership to their constituents.

The landslide occurred July 7, 2024 [2], in the Wayanad district of Kerala [3]. The disaster struck the site of the Anakkampoyil-Meppadi twin-tube tunnel project and resulted in eight deaths [1].

On July 13, 2026, the BJP questioned why the senior Congress leaders had not traveled to the disaster-hit region [1]. A BJP representative said, "Rahul Gandhi seems to be nowhere to be found" [4].

The ruling party further accused the Gandhi family of exploiting the region for their own benefit. A BJP spokesperson said, "They are part-time politicians who have used the constituency for their political survival" [1].

This criticism comes as the BJP seeks to paint the Congress leadership as detached from the local needs of the people in Wayanad. The party suggested that the absence of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during the aftermath of the landslide demonstrates a lack of genuine concern for the victims [1].

“"They are part-time politicians who have used the constituency for their political survival."”

This confrontation reflects the broader strategy of the BJP to challenge the Congress party's grassroots connection in Kerala. By framing the absence of the Gandhi family as a failure of leadership during a crisis, the BJP is attempting to erode the political legitimacy of the Congress leadership in the region and capitalize on the public's emotional response to the disaster.