Amit Shah announces NDA's candidate from Wayanad to take on Rahul Gandhi. Here's who it is

Just a day after Congress confirmed that Rahul Gandhi will contest from Wayanad constituency, apart from Amethi, in the upcoming Lok Sabha 2019 polls, the BJP-led NDA has countered by announcing the candidate of its own for that seat.

BJP President Amit Shah took to Twitter and made it public that the President of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), Thushar Vellappally will be fielded against the Congress chief from the constituency.

"I proudly announce Shri Thushar Vellappally, President of Bharat Dharma Jana Sena as NDA candidate from Wayanad. A vibrant and dynamic youth leader, he represents our commitment towards development and social justice. With him, NDA will emerge as Kerala's political alternative," his post read.

READ: OFFICIAL: Rahul Gandhi Says Yes For Two Seats, To Contest Lok Sabha 2019 Polls From Wayanad, Apart From Amethi

Apart from being the chief of BDJS, Thushar Vellapally is also a convenor of the NDA. He was recently announced as one of the candidate for the NDA from Kerala, and had begun his Lok Sabha campaign from Thrissur on Friday.

He will be up against Rahul Gandhi, who had till now since joining politics in 2004 contested from on a single seat -- Amethi. The Congress party had contemplated fielding him from South India after the party cadre in the southern part of the country requested him to do so.

After much deliberation, it was confirmed that the elder Gandhi sibling would contest from Wayanad, which has been vacant since the passing away of MI Shanavas, who had won from the seat in 2014.

Though, the grand old party's deicison was met with opposition, not just from their premier rival BJP, but also from the Left.

Senior CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat slammed the Congress chief for choosing a 'safe seat', suggesting it showed that his priority is to fight the Left, and not the BJP.

"Decision of Congress to field Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad shows their priority now is to fight against Left in Kerala. It goes against Congress' national commitment to fight BJP, as in Kerala it's LDF which is the main force fighting BJP there," he added.