New Delhi, November 23, 2024 (Press Ki Taquat bureau): With early trends indicating a lead for Congress candidate Priyanka Gandhi with over two lakh votes as counting progressed in Wayanad Lok Sabha by-polls on Saturday, BJP leader Tom Vadakkan alleged that the Congress took the support of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
Speaking to ANI, Vadakkan said, “It is not a question of who wins or loses in Wayanad. It’s a question of whose support you take. Demographically, it is a particular community in strength there. Despite that, you take the support of the PFI, of SDPI to win elections. These are anti-national organisations. The reality is, if you win or lose, you have done something which is anti-national because they are people who are divisive and want to create an India which is part of the deep-state plot. So, we appeal to these leaders of the Congress party – stop doing this because people of India have woken.”
Meanwhile, as per trends published by the Election Commission of India at 11 am today, Congress candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was leading by over two lakh votes in the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.
Priyanka Gandhi had obtained 3,37,064 votes and leading by a margin of 2,21,374 votes, as per the ECI. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her electoral debut with this seat. CPI candidate Sathyan Mokeri is in the second spot and BJP candidate Navya Haridas on third.
By-polls were held in 48 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 states. Wayanad, a Congress bastion is witnessing a triangular contest between Priyanka Gandhi, BJP’s Navya Haridas, and the Left candidate Sathyan Mokeri.
Priyanka Gandhi is contesting from the Wayanad constituency as a United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate, from the seat her brother Rahul Gandhi vacated after he was also elected to Lok Sabha from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh in the general elections held earlier this year. If Priyanka Gandhi wins from Wayanad, she will be the third person from the Gandhi family to enter Parliament.
