NEW DELHI, Oct 19: The BJP has fielded Kozhikode councilwoman Navya Haridas to take on the Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for the byelection to the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala to be held on November 13.
The BJP on Saturday released its candidate list for upcoming by-elections. The bypolls to 47 assembly seats in different states and Wayanad Lok Sabha seat will be held on November 13. The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi, who has also won from the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency which he kept. The Congress on Tuesday announced Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest the bypoll from the Wayanad parliamentary seat as was decided earlier.
Days after the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had announced in June itself that Rahul Gandhi will retain the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh and vacate the Wayanad seat in Kerala, from where his sister will make her electoral debut. If elected, this will be the first time that Priyanka Gandhi will enter Parliament as an MP. This will also be the first time that the three Gandhi family members — Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka — will be in Parliament together.
In addition to the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, the BJP also released its list of candidates for upcoming by-elections across several states. These include seats up for by-elections in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
The by-elections come at a critical time for the party, as it seeks to strengthen its position after a strong performance in Haryana and eyes victories in both Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections which will be held in November. It also released its list of candidates for Jharkhand assembly elections on Saturday.
(Manas Dasgupta)