Priyanka Gandhi posts thumping maiden election win from Wayanad

She defeats her closest rival Sathyan Mokeri of the CPI with a margin of 4,10,931 votes. BJP’s Navya Haridas finishes third with 1,09,939 votes

There were no red flags on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s way. She maintained a comfortable lead from the start of the counting of votes to the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency and never once did her victory look uncertain. At the close, the Congress scion clinched her maiden election win by posting a margin of 4,10,931 votes over her closest rival, Sathyan Mokeri of the Communist Party of India (CPI). 

Ms. Vadra polled 6,22,338 votes, while Mokeri received 2,11,407 votes. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, Navya Haridas, finished third with 1,09,939 votes. 

As such, from the time Ms. Vadra’s candidature was announced by the Congress from the seat relinquished by her brother and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who had registered wins in both Wayanad and Rae Bareli in the general election in April-May this year, the only debate was over her margin of victory. While the Congress targeted a majority of five lakh votes, this appeared a bit daunting given that her brother’s majority had dropped from 4.3 lakh votes in 2019 to about 3.6 lakh votes in the general election early this year.  

That the voter turnout fell to 64.72%, a decrease of 9.15 percentage points from the previous election and the lowest since the constituency’s formation in 2009, gave the United Democratic Front (UDF) leaders a cause for concern. However, the drop in poll percentage seemed to have affected Mr. Mokeri and Ms. Haridas more.

For the CPI, specifically, the result was a dampener. By fielding Mr. Mokeri, who gave the Congress’s M.I. Shanavas a run for his money in Wayanad in 2014, the party was hoping to see a better result. “But her [Ms. Vadra’s] campaign was on a personal note, with little political messaging. She was able to make it an emotive issue, highlighting the family’s sacrifices and the Congress kept reminding the voters about her resemblance to her grandmother Indira Gandhi. This seems to have worked well with the voters. While we polled the cadre votes of the Left and the political votes, many neutral voters wouldn’t have gone out to vote given that the word going around was about Ms. Vadra’s targeted margin of five lakh votes,” Mr. Mokeri told The Hindu.

70,000 votes less

Mr. Mokeri polled some 70,000 votes less than CPI’s Annie Raja secured early this year and over 1.4 lakh less than what he had polled in 2014. He brushes off that comparison saying that the advent of Mr. Gandhi in 2019 had made it an uphill task for the Left to make a mark in the Lok Sabha constituency. The CPI, the party sources said, would discuss whether anti-incumbency against the State government also played a role in its crushing defeat in Wayanad.

On Saturday evening, Ms. Vadra took to X to express her gratitude to the electorate. “I will ensure that over time, you truly feel this victory has been your victory and that 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,” she posted. 

Published - November 23, 2024 08:04 pm IST