Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra officially filed her nomination papers on Wednesday for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypoll in Wayanad, marking her electoral debut. The election is set for November 13.
Accompanied by her husband Robert Vadra and their son, Priyanka submitted three sets of nomination papers to the Wayanad district collector, Meghasree. Her mother, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, was present in support, seated behind her during the proceedings.
Confusion arose at the nomination site when officials insisted that only five individuals could accompany the candidate. As a result, Robert Vadra and their son temporarily stepped outside to allow Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge and party General Secretary KC Venugopal to enter.
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Priyanka’s brother, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, also attended the nomination filing.
Prior to the formal submission, Priyanka and Rahul led a vibrant roadshow and addressed a public rally attended by a host of state and national Congress leaders.
The bypoll necessitated after Rahul Gandhi vacated the Wayanad seat in favor of Rae Bareli. The Communist Party of India (CPI) has fielded veteran former legislator Sathyan Mokeri, who finished closely behind in the 2014 elections, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Navya Haridas, a young party councillor and former software engineer.
In the 2019 general elections, Rahul Gandhi won the Wayanad seat by a margin of 4.60 lakh votes, a figure that decreased to 3.64 lakh in this year’s polls.
The Wayanad constituency encompasses seven Assembly segments across three districts: Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode. Among these, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) holds four seats, the CPI(M) controls two, and the Left-backed Independent legislator PV Anvar holds one seat after splitting from the ruling Left and forming his own party.
