Priyanka Gandhi Leads in Wayanad By-Elections: A Strong Start in Her Electoral Debut

 
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has made her electoral debut from Wayanad, a constituency that was previously represented in the Lok Sabha by her brother, Rahul Gandhi. After the second round of counting in the bypolls, Priyanka is leading with a margin of 34,019 votes, building on her earlier lead of 24,227 votes from the first round. The counting of votes for bypolls across 46 Assembly seats in 13 states, as well as the Lok Sabha constituencies of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, began at 8 AM on Saturday. These bypolls are being closely watched as they mark a significant electoral event following the general elections held in April-May 2024. Elaborate arrangements were made for the counting process in Kerala, including the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat and the Palakkad and Chelakkara Assembly seats. In Wayanad, Priyanka faced stiff competition from veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Sathyan Mokeri and BJP's Navya Haridas. Rahul Gandhi had won the Wayanad constituency in the 2024 general elections with a margin of over 3.5 lakh votes, following his 2019 victory where he secured a margin of over 4.3 lakh votes. He vacated the Wayanad seat after simultaneously winning from Rae Bareli in the 2024 general elections, necessitating a bypoll in the constituency. Speaking on her campaign, Priyanka Gandhi emphasized her commitment to Wayanad, stating that if given the opportunity, she would advocate for the region not only in Parliament but across all available platforms.