New Delhi:

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra filed her nomination from Wayanad on Wednesday. When asked if Priyanka would be a better MP for Wayanad than brother Rahul, Mr Gandhi first said, “It is a tough question” and immediately added, “I don’t think so.” The duo, along with other Congress party members on a bus chuckled, as seen in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Do I think Priyanka would be a better MP for Wayanad than me? pic.twitter.com/VO62xequDv

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 23, 2024

In a minute-long video, Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are seen having a candid conversation about Wayanad, earlier represented by Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha from 2019-2024. The video begins with Priyanka Gandhi asking, “What is this face you are making?”

“I will miss Wayanad, that is the face I am making,” Mr Gandhi added.

When asked who would he choose as the MP of Wayanad, other than himself, he opted for sister Priyanka Gandhi. Explaining his answer, he said, “Not because I like her or I am very fond of her and love her very much. But she will actually do a good job. She has many qualities. She goes into a lot of detail. And she is my sister.”

To this, Priyanka recognised Rahul Gandhi’s love for the people of Wayanad and vice versa.

“I hope to be able to continue that bond with them,” she added.

Mr Gandhi went on to praise her sister, who will be contesting the upcoming by-poll in the Lok Sabha seat. “If she likes you, she will do whatever; beyond anything you can imagine. She is also going to like Wayanad a lot. You see, a huge part of being a good MP is that you like the people and place you work for. She is going to like it,” he exclaimed.

In the Lok Sabha polls this year, Rahul Gandhi won both Wayanad and Rae Bareli seats and decided to retain the latter, paving the way for the by-poll.

Seeking support for his sister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said, “I think you understand very well the relationship I share with the people of Wayanad. What Wayanad has done for me cannot be expressed in words. When feelings are really deep, the only way to express them is through action.”

“I would like to remind you Wayanad is the only constituency in the country that has two MPs, one is official, the other unofficial, and they will work together to protect the interests of the people of Wayanad,” Mr Gandhi added.

Wayanad, Kerala:

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who kicked off her electoral debut with a massive roadshow in Kalpetta here and filed her nomination for the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, on Wednesday said she has 35 years of experience in the political arena beginning from the age of 17 years when she campaigned for her late father Rajiv Gandhi in 1989.

Priyanka, who reached Wayanad on Tuesday night with her mother and Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, led a massive roadshow along with her brother — Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi — in Kalpetta and then addressed the thousands who were gathered here to give her rousing welcome with placards, balloons and drum beats.

Addressing the massive gathering ahead of filing nominations for the November 13 bypoll, she said, “At the age of 17 years, I first campaigned for my father in 1989. It has been 35 years now (since then).

“I have campaigned for my mother, for my brother and for many of my (party) colleagues. This is the first time I am campaigning for myself.” Her statement comes a day after BJP’s Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll candidate Navya Haridas said she was more experienced in representing people than Priyanka.

Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy and other senior party leaders were present on the dais during Priyanka’s speech.

During her public address, Priyanka further said that she was deeply grateful to Kharge for giving her the “privilege” of being the UDF candidate from Wayanad and “it is my honour to represent you (people of Wayanad), if you give me a chance”.

She also referred to her visit to Wayanad after the massive landslides which destroyed three villages in the hill district and claimed over 200 lives, and said everyone she met was engaged in helping others.

“Your courage deeply touched me. It would be a big honour and a great privilege to me to be a part of your community and your family,” she said.

She further said that the people of Wayanad stood with her brother Rahul when the whole world had turned its back on him.

“My whole family will always remain indebted to you and grateful to you for this support. He (Rahul) is sad to leave you, but I have promised him that I will only strengthen the bond between you and him.

“I am here to fight your battles, stand by you through thick and thin, be your voice, and I will not let you down,” she said.

Attacking the BJP government at the Centre, Priyanka said that the present times were one where those in power were trying to divide the people who voted them to power.

“They do not hesitate to subvert democracy. It is not the politics on which our nation was founded,” she said.

The Congress leader also said that all religious texts, be it the Bible, Gita or Quran, teaches love, humility and equality.

Rahul, who also addressed the gathering, asked the people of the hill region to take care of his sister, Priyanka Gandhi, just as they had protected and looked after him when he needed it most.

Rahul, who represented Wayanad from 2019 to 2024, also said that he would be the unofficial MP from the constituency, while his sister would be the official MP.

“So, there will be two MPs from Wayanad in Parliament,” he said.

The by-election for the Wayanad LS seat became necessary after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Lok Sabha polls from there and the Rae Bareli constituency this year, decided to vacate Wayanad.

Kharge, who also spoke at the event, said that Priyanka is in Wayanad not just to file her nomination, but as a relentless champion for the people of the hill district. “Bless her, and she will deliver the results,” he said.

After their public address, Priyanka left for the collectorate where she filed her nomination papers in the presence of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Kharge and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal.

Subsequently, Priyanka and Rahul visited the Puthumala mass burial ground and paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the Wayanad landslides.

Earlier in the day, she was given a rousing welcome by thousands of UDF workers and supporters as well as members of the general public of all age groups, who had been waiting since early morning, carrying placards with Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi’s photographs, balloons in the party colours and drum beats.

Balloons in the party colours of the Congress and its ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) dominated the scene as they were also lined up on both sides of the nearly two-kilometer-long roadshow route.

Green flags of IUML and the tricolour of the Congress, which were absent during Rahul Gandhi’s roadshow in April this year, were also seen, but in very few numbers.

Priyanka’s husband, Robert Vadra, and her son were also seen along with her in the open-roof vehicle along with other senior party and IUML leaders during the roadshow.

Priyanka would be contesting against LDF’s Sathyan Mokeri and BJP’s Navya Haridas.

Voting in Wayanad will be held on November 13. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Thiruvananthapuram:

The BJP announced on Saturday that Navya Haridas, a two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation, will be the NDA candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election.

Navya Haridas will be pitted against Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and CPI’s Sathyan Mokeri, the Left candidate, in the high-profile constituency in the 13 November by-election.

As the BJP released its candidate list for the upcoming by-elections in various states, Navya Haridas, a young woman leader in the saffron party, was named as the party’s nominee for this crucial seat.

A software engineer by profession, Navya Haridas serves as the parliamentary party leader for the BJP in the corporation.

She is also the state general secretary of the Mahila Morcha, according to party sources.

The by-election for Wayanad LS seat became necessary after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Lok Sabha polls from there and Rae Bareli constituency, decided to vacate it.

Meanwhile, BJP state general secretary C Krishnakumar would contest in Palakkad Assembly constituency where the saffron party is pinning its hope to win the most in the upcoming bypolls in the state.

During the previous Assembly polls, the party had come to an impressive second position in Palakkad through “Metroman’ E Sreedharan, who was defeated by Congress’s Shafi Parambil in a tight contest.

Though the names of several high profile leaders, including senior leader Shobha Surendran was doing the rounds in the segment, the party high command chose Krishnakumar finally.

Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil and expelled Congress digital media convenor P Sarin would be the Congress and the CPI (M) candidates in the constituency respectively.

In Chelakkara assembly constituency, K Balakrishnan would be the party candidate, as per the BJP candidate list.

Former MLA U R Pradeep and ex-MP Ramya Haridas would be the CPI (M) and Congress candidates respectively in Chelakkara during the bypoll.

Bypolls are being held for Palakkad and Chelakkara assembly constituencies as the MLAs from there — Shafi Parambil and K Radhakrishnan respectively — were elected to the Lok Sabha this year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)