Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge prior to filing her nomination for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat

The Forecast 1 year ago Congress

Prior to filing her nomination for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat byelection on October 23, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday (October 21, 2024) and sought his support.

"Before filing nominations for Kerala's Wayanad parliamentary seat and beginning the poll, I met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge ji to seek his advice and blessings," Vadra wrote in a post on X. The 52-year-old Congress leader will file her nomination on Wednesday, in the presence of her mother, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairman Sonia Gandhi, and her brother, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Congress President Kharge will also be present.

Chief Ministers from Congress-ruled states, as well as other key national and state party officials, are scheduled to attend, with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) hoping to use the opportunity to demonstrate their candidate's strength. Priyanka will lead a roadshow from the Kalpetta New Bus Stand at 11 a.m. and register her nomination with the District Collector at 12 p.m. on October 23.

With the Election Commission (EC) declaring the byelection for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat last week, the stage was set for Priyanka's political debut from the Kerala constituency, which could see her enter Parliament five years after she began active politics.

The Congress officially named her as the candidate shortly after the Election Commission declared the by-election date. However, the party revealed her name in June, shortly after Gandhi abandoned the seat and decided to maintain the Rae Bareli parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. If elected, this will be Priyanka's first time in Parliament as a Member of the Lok Sabha, as well as the first time all three Gandhi family members will be present.