Kerala Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Wayanad Storm Over Town Named After Tipus's Armoury

BJP state president K Surendran Thursday waded into a controversy by promising to rename Sultan Bathery in Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad constituency to Ganapathi Vattam and with this announcement, Tipu Sultan has entered into the political battlefield in Kerala.

Addressing the media, Surendran said: "Who is Tipu Sultan? When it comes to Wayanad and its people, what is its importance? That place was known as Ganapathi Vattam. People are aware and are used to this name Ganapathi Vattam.

That has been renamed," Surendran said. Surendran, the BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Wayanad said the first thing he would do if he wins would be to change the name of Sultan Bathery.

But people mocked him pointing out that he should first try to safeguard his election deposit, let alone win the seat. The LDF and the UDF also pounced on Surendran and accused him of raking up a needless controversy. It is true that the name of the municipal town of Sulthan Bathery is associated with Tipu Sultan, the 18th century Mysore ruler, and his conquest of Malabar in 1789.

The town was originally known as Ganapathyvattam, named after the Ganapati temple that once stood there, according to Sulthan Bathery's municipal website.

Tipu's military used the town to store its cannons and other ammunitions and subsequently Ganapathyvattam became ‘Sulthan's Battery'. Today, the Sulthan Bathery, is Kerala's cleanest town, and a major tourist spot.