Congress General Secretary and UDF candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during an election roadshow at Kalikavu, ahead of the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, in Malappuram district.
Credit: PTI Photo
Wayanad: With Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi stepping into the shoes of her brother as Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, both the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and BJP-led NDA are using Rahul Gandhi's decision to relinquish Wayanad seat as a political weapon against Priyanka.
Both the LDF and the NDA are accusing Rahul of cheating the people of Wayanad and not initiating any steps to address the pressing issues of the region like the night traffic ban along Bandipur during his tenure as Wayanad MP.
The NDA is also highlighting the chances of having another ruling front MP from Kerala if the party candidate Navya Haridas wins.
Despite the hype being created by the Congress over Priyanka's legacy, veteran CPI leader Sathyan Mokeri, who is the LDF candidate, is getting solid support from the its vote banks during his campaign.
Meanwhile, the software engineer-turned politician Haridas seems to be finding it difficult to replicate the vigour that the saffron camps had when party state president K Surendran contested against Rahul in the general elections earlier this year.
Though finished only in third place, Surendran could increase BJP's vote share by 6.75 percent to reach 13 percent, which he mainly gained from the votes secured by Rahul in 2019. Rahul's vote share fell from 65 percent in 2019 to 59.7 in 2024.
Although both Mokeri and Haridas are from Kozhikode, Mokeri seems to have better connections in the farmers-dominated Wayanad as he had actively participated in farmers' stirs at the national level.
CPI's national leader Annie Raja who contested in Wayanad in the 2024 general election could retain the votes secured by the party in 2019 and remain in the second position.
With the Opposition harping on the strong anti-incumbency against the LDF government in Kerala, the left camp is making all-out efforts to not to make a dent on its existing vote share.