Wayanad Bypoll Results 2024 LIVE: Priyanka Gandhi crosses Rahul Gandhi's victory margin, leads with over 4 lakh votes

Wayanad Lok Sabha bypolls: Wayanad Lok Sabha seat went to the polls on November 13 again after Rahul Gandhi who had won from the seat vacated it to retain the Rae Bareli seat. Rahul Gandhi had won from Wayanad in the 2024 polls with a margin of over 3.5 lakh votes.

The Election Commission of India data showed that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was leading with a margin of over 4 lakh votes. She is now nearing Rahul Gandhi's 2019 Lok Sabha polls victory margin. In the 2019 elections, Rahul Gandhi had won with a margin of 4.3 lakh votes.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has already surpassed Rahul Gandhi's Lok Sabha 2024 election victory margin in Wayanad. She is now leading with over 3.6 lakh votes. Rahul Gandhi had claimed his victory with a margin of 3.5 lakh votes. 

As per the Election Commission of India at 12:30 pm, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is leading with over 3.1 lakh votes. She is likely to overtake Rahul Gandhi's victory margin from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. LDF's Sathyan Mokeri follows a distant second with 1,62,490 votes, and BJP's Navya Haridas with 87,797 votes.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is leading with 2.4 lakh votes, in what appears to be a recreation of Rahul Gandhi's victory margins in the constituency. 

According to Election Commission of India at 11 am, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is leading with over 1.5 lakh votes. She is leading at 2,39,554 votes, followed by LDF's Sathyan Mokeri at second with 82,082 votes, and BJP's Navya Haridas with 45,927 votes.

After two hours of counting, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is leading in Wayanad with over 55,000 votes. However, certain news channels have reported that she is leading with around 70,000 votes. According to figures released by the EC at around 9.50 am, Priyanka received 86,303 votes with LDF's Sathyan Mokeri at second with 26,245 and BJP's Navya Haridas third with 16,223.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is leading in Wayanad with over 35,000 votes after an hour of counting. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her electoral debut with Wayanad bypolls. 

The counting of votes polled commenced at 8 am with postal ballots being taken up first.

WAYANAD BYPOLLS

The Congress party fielded Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, General Secretary, Indian National Congress from the seat in place of her brother and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha. 

In Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi was pitted against Communist Party of India (CPI) veteran Sathyan Mokeri and BJP's Navya Haridas. 

There are more than 14 lakh registered voters in Wayanad and 1,354 polling stations were set up in the constituency that was only recently devastated by landslides. However, Wayanad recorded low voter turnout at 64.72 per cent, which has raised concerns in the Congress camp that had targeted a secure victory margin of 5 lakh. 

The constituency has has 7 assembly segments, namely Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram district.

THE GANDHIS IN WAYANAD

Priyanka Gandhi in her campaign had referred to her brother’s tenure in the constituency and emphasised on the ‘love and affection’ that he showered on the people there. The ties between the people of Wayanad and the Gandhis featured prominently in Congress election narrative.

On the day Gandhi filed her nomination, Rahul Gandhi said that she would make an exceptional MP. “To her, the people of Wayanad are family. As her brother, I ask you to support and protect her as you have done for me. I will always stand by Wayanad as your unofficial MP,” Rahul Gandhi had said.

"I think all of you understand very well the relationship I have with the people of Wayanad. In her speech, Priyanka said that you protected me, looked after me when I needed it most. The Rakhi I am wearing was made by my sister. I don't take it off till it breaks. This is a symbol of a brother's protection to his sister. That is why I request the people of Wayand to look after my sister and protect her. She will put her entire energy into the problems of Wayanad and to protect you," he had said in the roadshow on her nomination day. 

Priyanka Gandhi also vowed to fight for the people of Wayanad. She said she has been a housewife for over 30 years and hence has a strong voice.

WAYANAD LANDSLIDES

One of the major issues that were brought up by the players in the fray in Wayanad bypolls was the landslides. Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the essential recovery funds still remain unreleased. "The Prime Minister came to meet Wayanad’s flood victims, yet for months, the support needed to rebuild lives is nowhere to be seen,” she said.

The landslides that struck Kerala on July 30 devastated the settlements of Mundakkai and Chooralmala, with over 200 buildings completely washed away. Local government estimates indicate that 236 buildings were washed away, and more than 400 were fully or partially damaged.

Mundakkai, the worst-hit area, was home to numerous local families and featured resorts, homestays, and zip-lining stations that attracted tourists and trekkers. The hills were also dotted with cardamom and tea estates.

Residents reported that regions higher in the hills had been loosened by weeks of heavy rain, and an unusually intense downpour on the night of the disaster triggered rivers of mud, water, and boulders to crash downhill, sweeping away settlements and people.