Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, the UDF candidate in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, on Wednesday expressed hope that the people of the hill constituency will give her an opportunity to represent them and repay the love they have shown her.

Priyanka made the statement during her visit to polling booths in Wayanad, where voting is currently taking place for the Lok Sabha by-election.

"My expectation is that the people of Wayanad will give me the chance to repay the love and affection they have shown me and to work for them and be their representative," she told reporters here.

In response to reporters' queries regarding the Waqf law issue, which has created a political storm in Kerala, and the lack of central assistance to landslide-affected people of Wayanad, Priyanka said, "I do not think today is the day to speak about these controversies." "Today is the day of polling. I hope everyone exercises their democratic right and comes out to vote," she said.

On being asked whether she will surpass the victory margin of her brother, Rahul Gandhi, when he won from Wayanad in the general elections earlier this year, the Congress general secretary said "that is yet to be seen".

Rahul had won the hill constituency in the 2024 general elections with a victory margin of over 3.5 lakh votes and in 2019 he had achieved a margin of over 4.3 lakh votes.

He had vacated the Wayanad LS seat after he also won the Rae Bareli constituency in the 2024 general election and therefore, necessitated a bypoll in the hill constituency.

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