Saturday, 23 November 2024
Saturday, 23 November 2024
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was cruising towards her maiden electoral win from Wayanad in Kerala, as she surpassed the lead achieved by her brother Rahul Gandhi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls conducted earlier this year.
Priyanka Gandhi was leading by 410, 931 votes, with 64.9 per cent vote share after eight hours of counting of votes.
Rahul Gandhi had won the Wayanad seat on June 6 this year with a margin of 364,422 votes with a 59.7 per cent vote share. In 2019, Rahul had won by a margin of 4,31,770 votes and had got 39.5 per cent vote share.
According to the latest EC figures, Priyanka had got 622,338 votes as against Communist Party of India’s Sathyan Mokeri, who got 211,407 votes and NDA's Navya Haridas, who got 109,939 votes.
"I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust you have placed in me. I will make sure that over time, you truly feel this victory has been your victory and the person you chose to represent you understands your hopes and dreams and fights for you as one of your own. I look forward to being your voice in Parliament," Priyanka Gandhi wrote on X.
Priyanka's husband, Robert Vadra, told reporters in Delhi that his wife was breaking all records and the trends show the love and affection she has received from the people of Wayanad
"We are very very thankful to the people of Wayanad for electing her as their representative in the Parliament. I think they (people of Wayanad) made the right decision because she will fight for them and all the issues in Wayanad,” said Vadra. “Whenever she is committed to something, she puts her heart and soul into it and you will be seeing a lot more of her in Wayanad and if required, I will also be there.”
Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy was the first Congress leader on Saturday who said, “Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would surely win by record margins.”
"An amazing first trend on counting day is the massive early lead for our leader @priyankagandhi ji in Wayanad, Kerala, by-election. People of Wayanad are surely going to record victory margins today and Priyanka ji will make Parliamentary debut with a grand win," Reddy said in a post on 'X'.
Early in the day, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) supremo Panakkad Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal predicted that Priyanka will get more votes than what Rahul got and the majority she achieves would also be higher than that of her brother.
A similar view was expressed by IUML's national general secretary P K Kunhalikutty.
BJP leader Anil K Antony, earlier in the day, had claimed that though Priyanka has achieved a good lead, her victory margin would be less than what Rahul got in the 2024 and 2019 LS polls in the hill constituency.
The bypoll turnout in Wayanad, which has over 14 lakh registered voters, was around 65 per cent, down from 74 per cent in the LS polls held in April this year and much lower than the over 80 per cent turnout in the 2019 general elections.
After winning from Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh as well, in this year's polls, Rahul vacated the Wayanad seat, and the party nominated his sister Priyanka, paving the way for her electoral debut.
Karnataka's deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, congratulated Priyanka Gandhi on her glorious debut win. He took to X and wrote, "Congratulations to @priyankagandhi ji on winning the Wayanad Constituency. Wayanad has always chosen progress, stability and development with Congress Party's vision and this time again it has proven that it is steadfast on ushering in prosperity with Congress. I am sure Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be the fearless voice for the people of Wayanad in the Parliament and represent them with utmost determination and dedication."
Karnataka Congress congratulated Priyanka Gandhi on X, "Congratulations to @priyankagandhi ji on a historic victory! A new chapter will unfold in Indian politics. Wayanad has spoken loud and clear. This is not just a win for Wayanad, but for every voice that stands for unity, justice, and progress. Best wishes from Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee".
On October 26, Priyanka in an open letter to the people of Wayanad had said, “I felt that it would be an honour to represent you in parliament. It would be an honour to learn from you, to understand your lives and the challenges you face and to become part of this courageous community that knows how to respect each other and stand tall even in the most trying times.”
During her campaign she had focused on the night traffic ban on National Highway 766, which connects Wayanad with Mysore and the delay in Nilambur-Nanjangud rail project as one of the few issues she would try to resolve in the region, according to reports in the Malayali Manorama.
Both Rahul and Priyanka had also pledged to make Wayanad a top tourist destination in the world.
There were two other Assembly bypolls in Kerala. LDF candidate U R Pradeep secured victory and retained the Chelakkara Assembly bypoll, while Congress candidate Rahul Mamkootahil won Kerala's Palakkad Assembly bypoll and retained the seat for his party.
With inputs from PTI
