BJP leader Navya Haridas.
Credit: X/@NavyaHaridas
Thiruvananthapuram: The NDA candidate for Wayanad Lok Sabha polls, Navya Haridas, on Sunday said the Gandhi family is considering the hill constituency as a mere "choice" or "second" seat" and people of the segment have realised this now.
A two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation, Haridas said what the voters of Wayanad want is a leader who stands up for them and resolves their problems.
Addressing reporters in Kozhikode, the young leader said, as far as India is concerned, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is not a new face, but for Wayanad, she is a newcomer.
"Priyanka is coming as a representative of the Gandhi family who had failed to raise the issues of Wayanad in the Parliament," she alleged.
A techie-turned politician, Haridas, further criticised the Congress party for giving seats to Gandhi family members.
She said people of Wayanad had given a mandate to Rahul Gandhi with the belief that he would be with them for the next five years. But when he got a chance to keep Raebareli, the Gandhi scion had abandoned the Wayanad constituency.
So, people of Wayanad have now realised that the constituency is considered just as a "second seat" or "choice" (by the Gandhi family), she alleged.
Noting that her candidature was quite a surprise, Haridas expressed confidence that the party's vote share would be increased in Wayanad during the November 13 polls.
As the BJP released its candidate list for the upcoming by-elections in various states on Saturday, Haridas, a young woman leader in the saffron party, was named as the party's nominee for this crucial seat.
Haridas serves as the parliamentary party leader for the BJP in the Corporation.
She is also the state general secretary of the Mahila Morcha, according to party sources.
The by-election for Wayanad LS seat became necessary after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Lok Sabha polls from there and Rae Bareli constituency, decided to vacate it.