KALPETTA: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is making her electoral debut in the bypoll from Wayanad, reached the constituency on Tuesday evening. Her mother and Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi accompanied Priyanka on her maiden poll tour. Priyanka will file her nominations on Wednesday.
Priyanka and Sonia reached Mysuru by a special flight at 6.15pm, and straight away headed to Sultan Bathery by road. Sonia is visiting Kerala after a gap of 10 years.
The by-election was necessitated after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, vacated the Wayanad seat after winning simultaneously from two constituencies in the last Lok Sabha elections.
Rahul and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will join Priyanka and Sonia on Wednesday during a 1.5km roadshow before submitting nomination papers.
The roadshow will begin from the New Bus Stand premises at Kalpetta at 11am. Priyanka will address the public at Gudalai, opposite Kerala Water Authority office at 11.45am.
Hours before Priyanka reached Wayanad, Rahul posted on X that he could not imagine a better representative from the constituency than his sister. “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. I’m confident she will be a passionate champion of Wayanad’s needs and a powerful voice in Parliament. Join us tomorrow, 23rd October, as she files her nomination for the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency. Together, let’s ensure Wayanad continues to be represented with love,” he wrote.