Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll: BJP fields Navya Haridas against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had earlier confirmed that the bypoll for the Wayanad seat will be held on November 13, with the results expected on November 23.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on October 19 announced Navya Haridas as its candidate to contest against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election. Haridas, a councillor in Kozhikode Corporation and the State General Secretary of BJP's Mahila Morcha, is seen as a rising figure within the party.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) had earlier confirmed that the bypoll for the Wayanad seat will be held on November 13, with the results expected on November 23. The seat was vacated by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who opted to retain Rae Bareli after winning both constituencies in this year’s general election.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make her electoral debut in the Wayanad bypoll, considered to be a strategic significance of the seat for the Congress party. Rahul Gandhi’s resounding victories in Wayanad, where he won by margins of 4.3 lakh votes in 2019 and 3.6 lakh votes in 2024, have firmly established the constituency as a Congress stronghold.

Adding further political weight to the contest, the Communist Party of India (CPI), a key ally in the opposition INDIA bloc, has fielded Sathyan Mokeri against Priyanka Gandhi. CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam confirmed Mokeri’s candidacy, recalling his 2014 contest in Wayanad.