Why Priyanka Gandhi is contesting from Wayanad, which Rahul Gandhi gave up

All eyes are on Kerala’s Wayanad as Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her poll debut, contesting the constituency’s crucial bypoll.

She is contesting against 15 other candidates in a highly competitive race in the constituency.

Priyanka’s brother Rahul Gandhi gave up the Lok Sabha seat to retain Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli, which has been a family bastion.

Here’s why Congress has fielded Priyanka at its bastion in Kerala.

Rahul’s exit from Wayanad

Rahul Gandhi gave up the Wayanad seat to keep the Uttar Pradesh seat of Rae Bareli .

In the pivotal 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leader had won both seats by a margin of more than three lakh votes .

However, rules allow a candidate to occupy one seat, and this choice must be made within 14 days of winning an MP seat.

Congress has had a stronghold in Rae Bareli. Since the first general elections, the grand old party has won the seat 18 times.

It was first represented by Rahul’s grandfather, the later Feroze Gandhi. Additionally, the constituency had been represented three times by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

But Rahul had other reasons for leaving Wayanad for Rae Bareli. Indeed, that was a strategic move. One obvious contributing factor was the party’s better performance in Uttar Pradesh, which sends roughly 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

Congress won six seats in Uttar Pradesh , whereas its INDIA ally, the Samajwadi Party, secured 37 seats, for a total of 43 seats. The BJP’s seats , however, dropped from 62 to 33.

Congress also tried to explain that Rahul was not “abandoning the seat and state that gave him and the party good results in the elections” when he left Wayanad.

Fielding Priyanka

Wayanad, which was established in 2008 following a delimitation process, has been Congress’s bastion since 2009.

Veteran Congress leader MI Shanavas was the first Member of Parliament to hold the seat. After his death, Rahul succeeded him as the Congress candidate in 2019.

When the BJP’s Smriti Irani was posing a serious threat to the party in its home state of Amethi, Wayanad was thought to be the safest seat for the party. So, even after losing Amethi, Rahul further solidified his popularity in 2019 by winning Wayanad, and then again in 2024.

There were rumours that Priyanka would run from Amethi in the Lok Sabha elections; however, that did not happen.

But eventually, she decided to run for the Kerala Lok Sabha by-election .

The Congress felt that since the BJP was on the “back foot” and had failed to return with a mandate of 300 or more, now was a good time for Priyanka to make her electoral debut.

By fielding Priyanka, the party made sure there was a Gandhi family presence in both the North and the South.

“I am very happy to be able to represent Wayanad, and all I will say is that I won’t let them feel his (Rahul’s) absence. As he said, he will come frequently, but I will work just as hard and will try to make everyone happy and be a good representative,” Vadra said.

Speaking to India Today, political analyst Manish Priyam said the Congress’s decision reflects the importance of Kerala for the party leadership in its South strategy.

“Wayanad remains very important for the Gandhi family. They don’t have a direct representation in Tamil Nadu. In Karnataka, there is DK Shivakumar (deputy chief minister). A direct entry of Priyanka will mean that the leadership is trying to say that Congress is directly putting its hands into the election cauldron in Kerala at a time when BJP’s vote percentage is also increasing,” she said.

Extensive campaigning

Priyanka’s election campaign has struck a chord with sizable crowds, particularly women, who attended her rallies in considerable numbers.

Her approach blended massive public rallies with local efforts like door-to-door campaigning and neighbourhood outreach initiatives.

Her primary focus on women’s empowerment, farmer concerns, and tribal welfare aligned with the constituency’s main issues and improved her standing with voters.

Over the past month, Rahul and his mother, former Congress head Sonia Gandhi, had been actively campaigning for Priyanka, with a goal of a victory margin of more than five lakh.

Rahul, expressing confidence in her sister, called her a “very good representative.”

“I am confident she (Priyanka) will win the election and she will be a very good representative. The people of Wayanad can think about it like this: They now have two MPs, one is my sister and the other is me. My doors are always open to you for the rest of my life and I love every person in Wayanad,” he had said earlier.

He had also challenged his sister to make Wayanad the best tourist destination.

“When people think of Kerala, the first destination should be Wayanad. This will benefit the people of Wayanad and its economy, and the world will get to know its beauty,” he had said.

While campaigning, he also suggested that he would always be available for the people of Wayanad. The constituency will have two MPs, one of them “unofficial,” he had said.

Priyanka also added that if she was given a chance, she would fight for the people of Wayanad not only in the Parliament but on every other platform.

Counting underway

Priyanka is contesting against Communist Party of India (CPI) veteran Sathyan Mokeri and BJP councillor Navya Haridas, who are among the 16 total candidates fielded from Wayanad.

As per early trends, Priyanka is leading a major margin of over 2 lakh votes. Despite low turnout, the Congress is optimistic that Priyanka will secure nearly six lakh of the 9.52 lakh votes cast. They estimate Sathyan and Navya will trail with two lakh and one lakh votes, respectively.

For the first time, all three Gandhi family members would serve in Parliament if Wayanad chooses Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Sonia Gandhi has gone to the Rajya Sabha after declining to run in this year’s Lok Sabha elections. Rahul, her son, fought from her seat in Rae Bareli.

By-elections are being held in 15 states to fill 48 assembly seats and two parliamentary seats.

The results for Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections will also be declared today.

With inputs from agencies