Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to file nomination for Wayanad Lok Sabha bypolls 2024, mark political debut

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday will file her nomination papers for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypoll in Kerala's Wayanad, marking her political debut. Wayanad bypolls will take place on November 13 and the counting will take place on November 23.

Priyanka, along with her brother Rahul Gandhi, will hold a roadshow at 11 AM in Kalpetta here before filing her nomination. After the roadshow, there will be a public address by her and thereafter, she will file her nomination, according to her itinerary.

She arrived in Wayanad on Tuesday night with her mother and Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also reached later.

Priyanka will be accompanied by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge when she files her nomination papers before the District Collector. Chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) leaders will also be present as a show of support to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. 

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi said that his sister would be the best person to represent the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency. 

"The people of Wayanad hold a special place in my heart, and I can't imagine a better representative for them than my sister, Priyanka Gandhi. I'm confident she will be a passionate champion of Wayanad's needs and a powerful voice in Parliament," he said.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala officially launched its campaign for Priyanka ahead of the bypolls. Local Congress leaders are also likely to conduct door-to-door campaigning on October 26 and 27. 

In Wayanad, Priyanka will fight against Navya Haridas, State General Secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha, and senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Sathyan Mokeri. Mokeri has been fielded as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate. 

The by-election in Wayanad was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Lok Sabha polls 2024 from there and Rae Bareli, decided to vacate Wayanad and retain the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat. 

Gandhi represented Wayanad from 2019-2024 when he contested from the seat for the first time and won but lost the Congress family bastion Amethi in Uttar Pradesh to BJP's Smriti Irani.