Congress leader and Wayanad by-election candidate Priyanka Gandhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Hours after Election Commission announced bypoll schedule, Congress on Tuesday night officially announced the candidature of party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi from Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, which was vacated by her brother and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
The party also announced Kerala Youth Congress president Rahul Mankoottathil from Palakkad Assembly seat and former MP Ramya Haridas from Chelakkara Assembly constituency along with Priyanka's candidature.
Mankoottathil pipped several claimants including youth leader and state Congress social media department member P Sarin, for the seat which became vacant after Shafi Parambil won from Vadakara Lok Sabha seat. Ramya, who lost the Alathur Lok Sabha seat to CPI(M)'s K Radhakrishnan, will fight from Chelakkara which the Left leader was representing before his election to Parliament.
Priyanka's candidature was announced on June 17 by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge after holding discussions with former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul as well party General Secretaries Priyanka and K C Venugopal. It was then decided that Rahul will retain Raebareli while resigning from the second seat -- Wayanad -- which he won.
Rahul had won Wayanad in 2019 while he was defeated in Amethi.
With Priyanka's entry, the Wayanad bypolls will be watched keenly across the country. Debuting in electoral politics, she will be the third person from Gandhi family to be in Parliament at present. Sonia is presently a member of Rajya Sabha and it will be first time that three people from the Gandhi family will be in Parliament. Priyanka’s possible entry in Lok Sabha is likely to add more firepower to the Opposition.
Rahul had said he has an emotional relationship with both the seats and people in Wayanad loved him. “Priyanka will fight Wayanad. I will visit Wayanad periodically…I am happy I will represent Rae Bareli. It was not an easy decision. It was a difficult one as I am linked to both,” he had said.
He also said now Raebareli and Wayanad will have two MPs in him and his sister and all commitments made by him to Wayanad will be realised by them.
“Rahul-ji has won from two seats and he can continue in only one seat as per law. As tomorrow (Tuesday) is the last day to choose the seat, we discussed today and the party decided that he will retain Rae Bareli because it is one seat with which he has close relationship and generations of Gandhis fought from there,” Kharge had said in June.
“People in the party also felt that it is good if he retains Rae Bareli. People in Wayanad also want him to retain that seat. But law does not allow that. Priyanka-ji will (now) fight (bypolls) from Wayanad,” he said.
Through Priyanka's entry in Wayanad, the Congress has made it clear that the party wants to consolidate the gains in north India where it has seen some resurgence though it is yet to regain space in some states where it had substantial ground.