Priyanka Gandhi is leading the early trends in Wayanad with huge margin. According to the Election Commission of India, Priyanka Gandhi is leading with the margin of 1,57,474votes. CPI’s Sathyan Mokeri is trailing behind with 56,929 votes, and BJP’s Navya Haridas is at the third position with 31,018votes. Priyanka has bagged 2,39,554 votes.
Wayanad has been the focus point as it marks the electoral debut of Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Vadra contested for the Lok Sabha seat, which was earlier held by her brother and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. The election was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi won both Wayanad, and Rae Bareli, and decided to retail the latter.
Wayanad went to polls on November 13, with 16 candidates. Priyanka competed against BJP’s Navya Haridas, and CPI(M) veteran Sathyan Mokeri.
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Wayanad comprises of seven assembly seats including Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram district.
The voter turnout this year was recorded as 64.72 per cent, a significant drop from the 72.92 per cent in the 2024 general election, and the 80.33 per cent turnout in 2019 when Rahul Gandhi first contested the seat.
Though Wayanad has been a Congress stronghold for long, Mokeri was able to crack it down. He reduced the winning margin to 20,000 votes when he contested in 2014. He accused the grand old party of not addressing key issues of Wayanad, but only focusing on the Gandhi family lineage.
Navya Haridas is a two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation and the Mahila Morcha State General Secretary in the BJP. While speaking to The Wire, she accused Rahul Gandhi of betraying the people of Wayand, and the Congress of trying to perpetuate its family dominance in the constituency.
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During her election campaign, Priyanka Gandhi promised to address the issues of farmers and focus on developing tourism in the hill district. Rahul Gandhi won the seat in 2024 general elections by a margin of over 3.6 lakh votes, but later vacated it to retain the Rae Bareli constituency in Uttar Pradesh.