Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is leading by a margin of over 85,000 votes in Kerala’s Wayanad, where a parliamentary by-election was held to fill the vacant seat left after her brother Rahul Gandhi moved to Rae Bareli. Gandhi, who is making her electoral debut from Wayanad, has won over 1.2 lakh votes so far. CPI stalwart Satyan Mokeri is trailing with around 36,000 votes, while BJP’s Navya Haridas is in third place with around 21,000 votes. A total of 16 candidates, including Gandhi, are contesting from Wayanad.
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Rahul Gandhi was elected from this seat for the first time in 2019, giving him a chance to remain a Lok Sabha member despite losing in Amethi. In 2024, he contested from both Wayanad and Rae Bareli, which fell vacant after his mother Sonia Gandhi moved to the Rajya Sabha. After winning both the seats, she decided to keep Rae Bareli for herself and let her sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contest from Wayanad.
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Rahul Gandhi and his mother and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had been actively campaigning for Priyanka Gandhi since last month, with a target of garnering over Rs 5 lakh. Trying to garner maximum public support, Gandhi challenged his sister to make Wayanad the best tourist destination. He had said, “When people think of Kerala, their first destination should be Wayanad. This will benefit the people of Wayanad and its economy and the world will know its beauty.”
