Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress party is poised to transform Priyanka Gandhi's electoral debut into a grand spectacle on Wednesday as she submits her nomination for the Wayanad Lok Sabha byelection.
Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi, and current Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will join Priyanka Gandhi for a 2-kilometer roadshow preceding the submission of her nomination papers at the Collectorate in Kalpetta. Additionally, Chief Ministers from Congress-led states and numerous AICC leaders are slated to participate in the roadshow, commencing from Kalpetta Junction at 11 am.
The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after Rahul Gandhi resigned and decided to keep the Rae Bareli seat. Leaders from the Congress and Muslim League urged Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leadership to nominate Priyanka for the by-election. Her candidacy was announced by Kharge in June.
The UDF, led by Congress, has resolved to mobilize workers from the Wayanad constituency, including the Malappuram district, for the roadshow. The Congress is optimistic about exceeding Rahul Gandhi's previous victory margin.
In 2019, Rahul Gandhi secured the seat with a margin of 431,770 votes. However, in the last Lok Sabha elections, his victory margin shrank by 5.25 per cent when he defeated CPI national leader Annie Raja by a margin of 364,422 votes.
UDF leaders assert that Priyanka Gandhi's victory margin will exceed 5 lakh votes.
The CPI has nominated veteran leader Sathyan Mokeri, who is familiar with the constituency. In the 2014 general elections, he narrowly lost by a margin of 20,870 votes to the late M I Shahnawaz of Congress.
The BJP has introduced a fresh candidate, Navya Haridas. A software engineer by profession, she currently serves as the parliamentary party leader for the BJP in the Kozhikode corporation.
Both CPI and BJP candidates have started their campaigns in the constituency.
