Wayanad: AICC General Secretary and United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won the Wayanad Lok sabha seat byelection by a huge margin of 4,08,036 votes on Saturday.
This was the maiden entry of Priyanka Gandhi to the Parliament and she also broke the record margin of her brother Rahul Gandhi who secured 3,64,422 votes in the election held to the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in April 2024 .
But in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Rahul Gandhi won the Wayanad seat by a margin of 4.31 lakh votes.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra secured 6,17,942 votes, while her rival rival and Left Democratic Front ( LDF) candidate Sathyan Mokeri got 2,09,906 votes and NDA candidate Navya Haridas polled 1,09,202 votes.
In the April 2024 Lok Sabha election, Rahul Gandhi defeated LDF candidate Annie Raja by a margin of 3,64,422 votes.
The former Congress President secured 6,47,445 votes, CPI National women leader Annie Raja (wife of CPI General secretary D Raja) of LDF bagged 2,83, 028 votes and BJP state president K Surendran secured 1,41,045 votes.
Priyanka thanks Wayanad, pledges to be their voice in Parliament
Priyanka expressed her gratitude to the people of Wayanad, Kerala for placing trust in her and pledged to be their voice in the Parliament.
She specially thanked her brother and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for being the strongest support and showing her the way.
In a message to the people of Wayanad through her social media handle X, Priyanka said, "My dearest sisters and brothers of Wayanad, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust you have placed in me. I will make sure that over time, you truly feel this victory has been your victory and the person you chose to represent you understands your hopes and dreams and fights for you as one of your own. I look forward to being your voice in Parliament!"
"Thank you for giving me this honour and even more for the immense love you have given me," Vadra said.
While thanking all those who were part of her campaign, Vadra said, "My colleagues in the UDF, leaders from across Kerala, workers, volunteers and my office colleagues who worked incredibly hard in this campaign, thank you for your support, for tolerating my 12 hour a day (no food, no rest) car journeys, and for fighting like true soldiers for the ideals we all believe in".
Expressing her gratitude to the her family members, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "To my mother, Robert and my two jewels- Raihan and Miraya, no gratitude is ever enough for the love and courage you give me. And to my brother, Rahul, you are the bravest of them all… thank you for showing me the way and having my back, always!"
Priyanka was nominated as the Congress candidate for the Wayanad bye election after the seat fell vacant when Rahul Gandhi chose to retain the Raibareli Lok Sabha seat of Uttar Pradesh.
