BJP has fielded Navya Haridas (39) against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi for the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll. The party has also released the list of candidates for Assembly bypolls from Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
The party also named 24 candidates for Assembly polls across eight states. Former MP Sunil Soni will contest from the Raipur City South assembly in Chhattisgarh.
The Congress had officially named Priyanka Gandhi as its candidate for the Wayanad bypoll, a seat previously held by Rahul Gandhi. The bypoll was necessitated when Rahul vacated the Wayanad seat following his decision to retain Amethi after winning from both constituencies in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Elections were necessitated in Wayanad after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was elected from both Wayanad and Raebareli, chose to retain the latter.
Navya Haridas, the BJP candidate set to challenge Priyanka Gandhi in Wayanad, is known as one of the dynamic leaders of the party. Navya had unsuccessfully contested in the Kerala assembly election in 2021 from Kozhikode South constituency.
A mechanical engineer by profession, Navya completed her B.Tech in 2007. According to her social media profile, Navya Haridas is the State General Secretary of BJP Mahila Morcha. She is a two-time councilor in Kozhikode Corporation and BJP group leader in the corporation.
Navya Haridas said that people in the Wayanad constituency need some advancement and the Congress has done nothing for them.
“People in the Wayanad constituency need some advancement there. The Congress family is not actually meeting the requirements of the people of Wayanad. This election onwards, Wayanad residents need a better member in Parliament who can address their issues,” she said.
“I am very happy that the BJP has selected me for this battle and I feel that they are looking for a leader who will be with the people of Wayanad and not a person who occasionally comes to Wayanad. A Member of Parliament should always be with them, understand their problems, and try to solve them. This is where the BJP stands, she added.
