UDF in Kerala kicks off campaign for Wayanad byelection with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as star candidate

Kerala’s UDF launches robust campaign for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Wayanad byelection, aiming for significant victory margin.

In a strategic move ahead of the Wayanad Lok Sabha byelection, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala has taken the initiative, launching a robust poster campaign across various regions of the constituency to promote its candidate, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

As of now, both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are yet to announce their nominees for the electoral contest.

This byelection marks Ms. Vadra’s maiden foray into electoral politics, prompting the UDF to aim for a significant victory margin for her candidacy. Ms. Vadra has previously campaigned extensively for her brother, Rahul Gandhi, who successfully contested and secured victory in two Lok Sabha seats during the general elections — Wayanad in Kerala and Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. However, with an MP permitted to hold only one seat, Mr. Gandhi decided to retain Rae Bareli, necessitating this byelection in Wayanad.

The groundwork for the Congress campaign was laid months in advance, assuming that the elections would be announced in September and conducted in October. The party convened meetings across three mandalams in Wayanad district at Kalpetta, alongside four mandalams in Kozhikode and Malappuram at Mukkam. In addition, constituency-level camps are being organised, followed by mandalam and booth-level initiatives.

A key focus of the party is to address the dip in Mr. Gandhi’s victory margin, which, according to their assessment, was affected by dwindling public perception regarding the Congress’ prospects at the national level. In the recent elections, Mr. Gandhi’s vote share fell significantly from a historic 4,31,770 votes in 2019 to 3,64,422 votes in 2024.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday (October 16) following a District Congress Committee meeting, Rajmohan Unnithan, MP, and in-charge of the Kalpetta constituency, expressed confidence that Ms. Vadra would secure a victory margin exceeding five lakh votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha byelection.

Mr. Unnithan has attributed this optimism to the prevailing anti-incumbency sentiments against both the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments. He emphasised that this “discontent” among voters would be a significant factor influencing the election results in the State, ultimately bolstering Ms. Vadra’s vote margin.