The Communist Party of India (CPI), which is an ally of the Congress party in the opposition INDIA bloc, has decided to field Sathyan Mokeri against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is Congress’s general secretary.
“The CPI has decided to field Sathyan Mokeri against Congress candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the upcoming Wayanad Lok Sabha bypolls. He contested the Wayanad Loksabha election in 2014,” CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam said on Thursday.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced the date for the bypoll on the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat. The polling will held on November 13 and the result will be declared on November 23.
The seat was vacated after Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, chose to retain the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh following his victory in both constituencies in this year’s parliamentary elections.
After Rahul vacated the seat, the Congress party decided to field Priyanka Gandhi from Wayanad on her poll debut, which reflects the party’s strategic importance the Gandhi family attaches to the constituency.
Since announcing Priyanka’s candidacy, Congress has been ramping up its campaign efforts, aiming to improve upon Rahul’s previous victory margin of 3.6 lakh votes.
Rahul’s re-election with a majority of 3.6 lakh votes in 2024, despite a dip in voter turnout, reinforced Wayanad’s status as a stronghold for Congress. Since his impressive victory in 2019, where he won by a margin of 4.3 lakh votes despite a loss in Amethi, Rahul has stressed that Wayanad is part of his family.
This sentiment is expected to resonate as Priyanka Gandhi embarks on her first electoral campaign in what has become a Gandhi pocket borough in the South.