Political spotlight turns to Wayanad, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra arriving to kick off her LS by-election campaign
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will file the nomination papers on October 23 for the seat vacated by Rahul Gandhi after he won simultaneously from the Rae Bareilly LS segment in Uttar Pradesh
by G Anand · The HinduThe political spotlight seemed to swivel towards the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala on Tuesday (October 22, 2024).
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will arrive in the district later in the day to kick off her inaugural foray into electoral politics.
Her brother and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, is accompanying Ms. Vadra.
On October 23, Ms. Vadra will file the nomination papers for the seat vacated by Mr. Gandhi after he won simultaneously from the Rae Bareilly LS segment in Uttar Pradesh.
When bowing out from Wayanad, Mr. Gandhi had promised to maintain his “familial bond” with the electorate.
Subsequently, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) nominated Ms. Vadra as the party’s candidate from Wayanad.
Mr. Gandhi’s victory margin dwindled by an estimated 5.25% when he faced Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Annie Raja and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) State President K. Surendran in 2024 compared to his thumping victory in the 2019 Wayanad LS polls.
The Congress and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), which has a significant presence in the Wayanad district, have scheduled a high-decibel road show in Kalpettah to present Ms Vadra to the electorate.
AICC national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Mr. Gandhi will participate in the rally, along with KPCC and IUML leaders.
Scores of posters welcoming Ms. Vadra have appeared across the Wayanad district.
Ms. Vadra, who campaigned for Mr. Gandhi in Wayanad in 2019 and later in 2024, has reportedly developed close links with local leaders and the electorate.
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has fielded Communist Party of India (CPI) veteran Sathyan Mokeri as its candidate in the Wayanad LS by-election.
The CPI has been openly critical of Ms. Vadra’s candidature, stating that it ran against the grain of the INDIA Bloc’s political programme.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has named the State general secretary of the Mahila Morcha, Navya Haridas, a software engineer, as its candidate in Wayanad.
BJP State President K. Surendran, who fought Mr Gandhi and Ms Annie Raja in the Lok Sabha polls, had upped the NDA’s vote share in the Wayanad constituency by 5.75 per cent.
Landslide shadows campaign
The by-election campaign for the Wayanad LS constituency will unfold against the looming shadow of the catastrophic landslide that killed an estimated 400 sleeping residents in Chooralmala and Mundakkai villages early on July 30.
The ruling and opposition fronts have made the Centre’s alleged delay in dispersing aid for Wayanad as their central campaign plank.
On October 14, the Kerala Legislative Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution demanding that the Central government release the aid urgently.
The Assembly also sought the Centre’s urgent intervention to persuade the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to write off the debt incurred by the disaster-hit people.
Published - October 22, 2024 12:11 pm IST