Wayanad (Kerala): Congress General Secretary and United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Priyanka Gandhi will be filing her nomination on October 23 for the upcoming Wayanad Lok Sabha bye-elections.
She also met with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday and took his guidance and blessings ahead of the nomination and election campaign for the Wayanad parliamentary seat in Kerala.
Read: https://twitter.com/priyankagandhi/status/1848322558774419849?
Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Party President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will also accompany her for filing her nomination before the Returning Officer (RO) in Kalpetta, in Wayanad.
Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are also going to hold a road show starting at 11 AM, and filing the nomination at noon, according to sources.
Congress approved Priyanka's candidature on October 15, after the bypoll schedule was announced by the Election Commission of India.
In the run-up to the bypolls, Congress appointed Saral Patel as Media Coordinator for Wayanad with immediate effect, an All India Congress Committee statement said on October 19.
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Earlier on Sunday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Wayanad seat, Navya Hariprasad said that her opponent would be facing "tough competition" in the upcoming bypolls.
"My opponent is Priyanka Gandhi and all I can say is Congress will be facing tough competition in Wayanad. Rahul Gandhi has given up his seat in Wayanad to retain his seat in Raebareli. When the people of Wayanad faced the landslides, they did not have a representative to raise their issues in the Parliament," Navya Hariprasad told ANI.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) also announced their candidate, Sathyan Mokeri.
Wayanad will go to the polls on November 13 along with voting for bye-elections in 47 assembly seats across 15 states. The first phase of assembly polls in Jharkhand will also be held on November 13.
Wayanad's seat was vacated by Rahul Gandhi after he was also elected to Lok Sabha from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh in the general elections held earlier this year.
—ANI