Kozhikode, Nov 30: AICC General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who on Thursday took oath as the Wayanad MP, reached here on Saturday. It is her first visit to the constituency after registering a smashing victory in the November 13 bye-election. Accompanied by her brother and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, she told the media at the Kozhikode airport that she was happy to be back.
“I am really happy to be back and am ready to start work for the people of Wayanad to help them to have a better life,” said Priyanka Gandhi. The Congress MP has a hectic programme for the day with public meetings to be held at Mukkam in the Thiruvambadi Assembly constituency of Kozhikode district, followed by receptions at Karulai in Nilambur, Wandoor, and Edavanna in Eranad by 2.15 P.M., 3.30 P.M. and 4.30 P.M. respectively. Priyanka Gandhi clinched her electoral victory in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll with a commanding margin of 4,10,931 votes.
Incidentally she bettered the victory margin of 3.60 lakh votes of her brother Rahul Gandhi, which he got in the April Lok Sabha polls, but fell short of his margin of 4.30 lakh votes which he won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The bypoll was necessitated after LoP Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat earlier this year.
During the campaign, the primary question revolved around whether Priyanka Gandhi could surpass her brother’s record-breaking margin. Priyanka Gandhi’s victory marks a significant moment in her political journey, coming nearly 20 years after she first campaigned for her mother, Sonia Gandhi, in Raebareli and her brother in Amethi during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
Her debut as an elected representative is seen as a pivotal step in solidifying the Congress’ presence in Kerala and revitalising the party’s fortunes at the national level.
IANS