Wayanad sees low turnout of 64.72% in Priyanka Gandhi's debut contest

Wayanad by-election records a voter turnout of 64.72%, the lowest since its inception in 2009, as Priyanka Gandhi faces CPI and BJP in her debut contest

The Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, which marks Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s first electoral contest, recorded a voter turnout of 64.72 per cent in the by-election held on Wednesday. This is the lowest turnout since the constituency’s inception in 2009.

 

Of the 1.47 million eligible voters, 952,543 cast their votes, including 497,788 women. By 10 am, voter turnout stood at 13.91 per cent, rising to 35.70 per cent by 1 pm and 62.37 per cent by 5 pm. District Collector DR Meghashree confirmed that no untoward incidents were reported during polling.

 

The by-election was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat to retain his Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh. A bypoll was also held in the Chelakkara Assembly constituency in Kerala’s Thrissur district, where voter turnout reached 72.54 per cent.

 

In comparison, Wayanad recorded a turnout of 72.92 per cent in the general election earlier this year, a drop from 80.33 per cent in 2019, when Rahul Gandhi first contested from the seat.

 

This time, Priyanka faces competition from CPI’s Sathyan Mokeri and BJP’s Navya Haridas. The dip in voter participation comes as the Congress aimed for a “majority of 500,000 votes” for Priyanka.

 

To bolster her campaign, AICC General Secretaries KC Venugopal and Deepa Dasmunsi camped in the constituency, joining Priyanka during her meetings. Congress MLAs were assigned to oversee Assembly segments, while KPCC office bearers managed panchayat-level campaigning. Priyanka personally toured all panchayats to strengthen grassroots support.

 

The campaign featured high-profile leadership, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi, and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. Other prominent figures, such as Sonia Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Telangana Congress President A. Revanth Reddy, also accompanied Priyanka during her nomination process.

 

In contrast, the BJP’s campaign lacked national leaders, with Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar being the only notable figure to visit Wayanad.

 

The by-election occurred months after a devastating landslide in the region, which claimed 231 lives, with 47 people still missing. Special polling booths for survivors from the affected villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala, and Attamala were set up in Meppadi.