Priyanka Gandhi files nomination for Wayanad LS bypoll

Wayanad: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday filed her nomination papers for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypoll in Wayanad, thereby marking her electoral debut.

The election will be held on November 13. Priyanka Gandhi submitted three sets of her nomination papers.

She was accompanied by her husband Robert Vadra and their son as he signed her papers. Her mother, former Congress president and Rajya Sabha member Sonia Gandhi was seated behind her.

There was some confusion as the officials insisted that only five people could accompany the candidate and, hence, after a while, the husband of Priyanka Gandhi and their son came out of the chamber to make way for Congress president Malikarjuna Kharge and party general secretary and Lok Sabha member K.C.Venugopal.

Priyanka Gandhi's brother and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was also present when she filed her nomination papers.

The nomination papers were filed before the Wayanad district collector, Meghasree.

Before filing the nomination, she and Rahul Gandhi held a massive roadshow and then addressed a public rally where a galaxy of state and national Congress leaders was present on the dais.

The bypoll was necessitated after her brother Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat in place of Rae Bareli.

The CPI has fielded veteran former legislator Sathyan Mokeri, who finished a close third during the 2014 general elections in Wayanad while the BJP has brought in young Kozhikode Corporation party Councillor Navya Haridas, a former software engineer who quit her job and plunged into full-time politics.

Rahul Gandhi won the 2019 general elections with a margin of 4.60 lakh from Wayanad which came down to 3.64 lakh in this year’s general elections.

Wayanad constituency is spread across seven Assembly constituencies in three districts -- Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode.

Of the seven, four are held by the Congress-led UDF, two by the CPI(M) and one was won by the Left-backed Independent legislator P.V. Anvar who has now split up with the ruling Left and floated his own party.