Rahul Gandhi is the Lok Sabha MP for Kerala's Wayanad seat
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi flew into Kerala this morning, even as his party battles a fresh leadership crisis in poll-bound Punjab, where Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned yesterday as chief of the state unit.
Mr Gandhi - a Lok Sabha MP from the southern state - is on a pre-scheduled one-day visit to Kozhikode and Malappuram, during which he will interact with constituents and inaugurate projects.
Source said he is scheduled to return to the national capital Thursday morning.
Mr Gandhi's Kerala visit comes amid a (continuing) leadership crisis in Punjab - one of the few states the party still holds and one of seven that will vote for a new government next year.
Questions have been raised over the timing of Mr Gandhi's visit, particularly since both Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also away from Delhi when Mr Sidhu dropped his bombshell.
The Congress leadership, though, has insisted that "all is well" in Punjab, despite the turmoil caused by the resignation of Mr Sidhu and Razia Sultana, one of the new cabinet ministers.
The cabinet met Tuesday evening in Chandigarh and is expected to meet this morning too, and Punjab Congress General Secretary Pargat Singh has reportedly been tasked with pacifying Mr Sidhu.
"Nothing to worry, everything will be all right," senior leader KC Venugopal had said.
If Navjot Sidhu cannot be persuaded to take his resignation back, a 'plan B' is already in motion.
Reports indicate one of either Kuljit Singh Nagra (the Fatehgarh Sahib MLA) or Ravneet Singh Bittu (the Ludhiana MP) will be selected as Mr Sidhu's replacement.
The Congress' dwindling sway over state-level politics is concerning ahead of the 2024 general election, and the party had hoped Mr Sidhu's appointment - after the Gandhi family overruled Amarinder Singh's objections - would steady the ship ahead of the Assembly election.
Veteran Congress leader Amarinder Singh quit as Chief Minister 10 days ago, after a prolonged and bitter feud with Mr Sidhu over several issues.
Mr Singh declared himself "humiliated" and warned the Congress about backing Navjot Sidhu; he called him "dangerous for the state" and said he would "make any sacrifice" to stop him.
He also pulled no punches in his criticism of the Gandhi family.
"I was ready to leave after the victory but never after a loss... If she (Sonia Gandhi) had just called me and asked me to step down, I would have. As a soldier, I know how to do my task..." he said.
The "Gandhi children" - a reference to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra - were "quite inexperienced" and their advisors were clearly misguiding them, the Captain also said.
After the Sidhu shocker, Mr Singh lost no time in saying "I told you so..."; he tweeted: "I told you so...he is not a stable man and not fit for the border state of Punjab."
Mr Singh is currently in Delhi on a "personal" visit; reports he had lined up a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah were dismissed yesterday by his media advisor.