New Delhi:

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra filed her nomination from Wayanad on Wednesday. When asked if Priyanka would be a better MP for Wayanad than brother Rahul, Mr Gandhi first said, “It is a tough question” and immediately added, “I don’t think so.” The duo, along with other Congress party members on a bus chuckled, as seen in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Do I think Priyanka would be a better MP for Wayanad than me? pic.twitter.com/VO62xequDv

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 23, 2024

In a minute-long video, Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are seen having a candid conversation about Wayanad, earlier represented by Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha from 2019-2024. The video begins with Priyanka Gandhi asking, “What is this face you are making?”

“I will miss Wayanad, that is the face I am making,” Mr Gandhi added.

When asked who would he choose as the MP of Wayanad, other than himself, he opted for sister Priyanka Gandhi. Explaining his answer, he said, “Not because I like her or I am very fond of her and love her very much. But she will actually do a good job. She has many qualities. She goes into a lot of detail. And she is my sister.”

To this, Priyanka recognised Rahul Gandhi’s love for the people of Wayanad and vice versa.

“I hope to be able to continue that bond with them,” she added.

Mr Gandhi went on to praise her sister, who will be contesting the upcoming by-poll in the Lok Sabha seat. “If she likes you, she will do whatever; beyond anything you can imagine. She is also going to like Wayanad a lot. You see, a huge part of being a good MP is that you like the people and place you work for. She is going to like it,” he exclaimed.

In the Lok Sabha polls this year, Rahul Gandhi won both Wayanad and Rae Bareli seats and decided to retain the latter, paving the way for the by-poll.

Seeking support for his sister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said, “I think you understand very well the relationship I share with the people of Wayanad. What Wayanad has done for me cannot be expressed in words. When feelings are really deep, the only way to express them is through action.”

“I would like to remind you Wayanad is the only constituency in the country that has two MPs, one is official, the other unofficial, and they will work together to protect the interests of the people of Wayanad,” Mr Gandhi added.

Thiruvananthapuram:

The BJP announced on Saturday that Navya Haridas, a two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation, will be the NDA candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election.

Navya Haridas will be pitted against Congress’s Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and CPI’s Sathyan Mokeri, the Left candidate, in the high-profile constituency in the 13 November by-election.

As the BJP released its candidate list for the upcoming by-elections in various states, Navya Haridas, a young woman leader in the saffron party, was named as the party’s nominee for this crucial seat.

A software engineer by profession, Navya Haridas serves as the parliamentary party leader for the BJP in the corporation.

She is also the state general secretary of the Mahila Morcha, according to party sources.

The by-election for Wayanad LS seat became necessary after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Lok Sabha polls from there and Rae Bareli constituency, decided to vacate it.

Meanwhile, BJP state general secretary C Krishnakumar would contest in Palakkad Assembly constituency where the saffron party is pinning its hope to win the most in the upcoming bypolls in the state.

During the previous Assembly polls, the party had come to an impressive second position in Palakkad through “Metroman’ E Sreedharan, who was defeated by Congress’s Shafi Parambil in a tight contest.

Though the names of several high profile leaders, including senior leader Shobha Surendran was doing the rounds in the segment, the party high command chose Krishnakumar finally.

Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil and expelled Congress digital media convenor P Sarin would be the Congress and the CPI (M) candidates in the constituency respectively.

In Chelakkara assembly constituency, K Balakrishnan would be the party candidate, as per the BJP candidate list.

Former MLA U R Pradeep and ex-MP Ramya Haridas would be the CPI (M) and Congress candidates respectively in Chelakkara during the bypoll.

Bypolls are being held for Palakkad and Chelakkara assembly constituencies as the MLAs from there — Shafi Parambil and K Radhakrishnan respectively — were elected to the Lok Sabha this year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)