Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday made her formal entry into electoral politics by filing her nomination for the Wayanad Lok Sabha byelection. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were also present on the occasion. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are expected to lead a roadshow from Kalpetta New Bus Stand.
With this, wednesday marks the beginning of another chapter for the Nehru-Gandhi family. If she wins, Priyanka will be the third member of her family in Parliament along with her mother Sonia Gandhi, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan and the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson, and her brother Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rae Bareli MP.
The Congress general secretary faces veteran Left leader Sathyan Mokeri of the CPI and Kozhikode municipal councillor Navya Haridas of the BJP. The Congress has to figure out how to fix organisational shortcomings that saw her brother’s vote share dip from an exceedingly high 64.64% to a still pretty high 59.69%.
Of the seven Assembly segments that make up the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, Rahul Gandhi’s votes dropped sharply in Kalpetta, Mananthavady, and Sulthan Bathery and this is where the party has to put in the work.
On her nomination, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Congress MP Kishori Lal Sharma said, “It is a matter of happiness for us that our leader will debut in Parliament. Like in Amethi and Raebareli, there is enthusiasm among people in Wayanad…Priyanka ji is not new in politics, she has been in active politics…When a big leader goes to a state, it makes an impact…”
With the Election Commission (EC) announcing the bypoll to the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat last week, the stage was set for Priyanka Gandhi’s electoral debut from the Kerala constituency that could see her enter Parliament five years after joining active politics.
Soon after the EC announced the Wayanad bypoll, the Congress declared that Priyanka Gandhi (52) would be its candidate for the seat in Kerala. With the Congress fielding the AICC general secretary from Wayanad, party workers had put up posters in the constituency which had “Wayanadinte Priyankari (Wayanad beloved)” written on it.
