KALPETTA: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra seems to have finally chosen her playground -- and the Congress leader appears to be sharpening her big-game temperament and fine-tuning her skills for the long haul.
When Rahul Gandhi vacated Wayanad after the 2024 Lok Sabha election to retain Rae Bareli, many dismissed her candidature as a stop-gap arrangement -- a sister stepping in for her brother. But Priyanka’s recent 10-day tour across Wayanad shows a leader intent not on substitution, but on claiming the hill district as her own political home.
Wayanad marked her formal debut in electoral politics. The by-election victory that carried her to Parliament was decisive, yet tinged with scepticism over whether she would hold true to the constituency or abandon it at the first opportunity? Priyanka’s actions over the past weeks suggest she is preparing to settle the question in her own way.
She has chosen immersion over symbolism, spending her days meeting writers, cultural leaders, bishops, Muslim scholars, tribal communities and farmers, listening closely to what they had to say.
Her itinerary was not confined to handshakes; she discussed the nature of local politics, the problems of the constituency, and even the weaknesses of her own party machinery.
She moved swiftly to show that she meant business. At Poozhithode-Padinjarathara she inspected the ongoing road survey. In Chooralmala-Mundakkai she heard the pain of landslide survivors. In their presence she called the district collector and pressed for urgent relief.
At the Chettiyalathur tribal settlement, she faced open anger from residents who said politicians had always betrayed them. The very next day she returned with the collector and assured them of electricity, water and other basic needs. For her, winning trust was the first step.
The people she has called on is exhaustive: O K Johnny, M N Karassery, Kalpetta Narayanan, and Cheruvayal Raman from the literary world; besides Samastha’s Sayyid Muhammad Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, archbishop Mor Stephanos Geevarghese, Mar Jose Porunnedom, and Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil from the spiritual sphere. She also visited Markaz Knowledge City and the Hume Centre to understand the fragile geology of the district. Each meeting added another layer to her understanding of Wayanad’s political and social fabric.
Her aides say the shift is already visible. “Rahul Gandhi has often said that he fell in love with the people of Wayanad after representing them. For Priyanka too, this is no longer about obligation. She genuinely loves the people here and she knows she has to earn their trust,” said Raju P Nair, who coordinated her visit.
If the Gandhis’ traditional turf in North India is where the family has long fought its fiercest political battles, Priyanka now appears to be seeking her own path.
In Wayanad she has found not just a constituency, but a different kind of politics -- less about numbers and caste, more about people and their struggles. And as her groundwork deepens, the picture becomes clearer: Priyanka is not a substitute for her brother. She is working to make Wayanad the place where her own political story takes root.