Everyone’s eyes are once again on Wayanad in Kerala. This time the reason is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, sister of Congress leader and former MP Rahul Gandhi. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday addressed Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Malikajung Haq. Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior party leaders submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming Lok Sabha by-elections. Although Wayanad is considered a safe seat for the Congress, the candidates Priyanka will contest from will make the contest interesting.
In fact, the Lok Sabha by-elections were the beginning of Priyanka Gandhi’s campaign journey. Priyanka has long stayed away from electoral politics and continues to campaign for family members and other MPs. Priyanka, 52, joining the electoral fray is seen as a strategic move by the Congress party. Priyanka Gandhi is vying with Communist Party of India (CPI) Satyan Mokeri and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Navya Haridas over Rahul Gandhi’s departure Seat vacated after Wayanad. Mokri is one of Kerala’s senior leaders, while technologist-turned-politician Naya Haridas is a software engineer by profession.
The BJP candidate has worked in Singapore and the Netherlands
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Navya Haridas has entered the fray with professional and political experience. He has been called an “accidental politician.” Haridas worked in Singapore and the Netherlands before entering politics. After returning to India, she served twice as Member of Parliament for Kozhikode Corporation and currently serves as the state secretary of the Mahila Morcha of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Navya told The Indian Express how she accidentally became a politician when she and her children went on vacation to Kozhikode in 2015. She said, “It was election time and the BJP approached me and gave me a ticket considering my family’s Sangh Parivar background. I stood from the corporate general seat. Overnight, I became a candidate Man. My plan was that if I lost, I would come back to Singapore, but I never came back and won two elections in succession.
Navia Haridas also has earlier electoral experience. She contested the 2021 Assembly elections from Kozhikode South Assembly constituency and finished third but significantly increased the vote share of the BJP. Nayya, who has a background as a people’s representative and local governance, criticized her rival Priyanka Gandhi and the Gandhi family, saying the Congress party did not do enough in the Wayanad landslide that killed more than 400 people in the mountainous region. “Wayanad is just another seat for the Gandhi family,” Nayar said.
Satyan Mokeri has been a powerful voice for the Left Front.
Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate Satyan Mokeri is the third biggest name in Wayanad. Mokri is a seasoned politician with a long career in Kerala politics. Mokri, often called the roaring lion of the Kerala Congress, has been a strong voice for the Left Front. He was an experienced communist leader. His parents were freedom fighters P Kelappan Nair and Kalyani Mokeri, and he entered public life as the unit secretary of the All India Students Federation (AISF).
Mokri served as MLA from Naddapuram constituency between 1987 and 2001 and held various positions, including All India Kisan Sabha national secretary and member of the State Control Committee of the Communist Party of India. He is known for his advocacy on agricultural issues and his participation on several committees, including the Agricultural Debt Relief Committee. Mokri is confident in his ability to challenge Priyanka Gandhi, which he compared to historical electoral defeats, including that of Indira Gandhi.
These are also the candidates in the field of election in Wayanad
Apart from these three prominent figures, Dujilala Nageshwara Rao of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Sheikh Jalil of Navran Congress and independent candidate Padmarajan also filed Submitted nomination papers and entered the competition.
The by-election in Wayanad became necessary after Rahul Gandhi, who won the seat in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, decided to vacate the seat to retain Rai Bareilly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. The election is scheduled for November 13 and counting of votes will take place on November 23. The outcome of the Wayanad by-election will not only decide the next MP of Wayanad but will also be of great significance for the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections.
