Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday cruised to her maiden electoral victory, from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, with a margin of over 4.1 lakh votes against Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Democratic Front's Sathyan Mokeri, according to figures released by the Election Commission.
Priyanka got 6,22,338 votes which was less than the 6,47,445 votes received by her brother Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha polls in Wayanad in April this year, but her victory margin of 4,10,931 was more than his lead of 3,64,422 votes, despite the decline in turnout in the Wayanad bypoll.
The LS poll turnout in Wayanad, which has over 14 lakh registered voters, was close to 74 per cent in April, but had declined to 65 per cent in the by-election in November.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Wayanad, CPI's Annie Raja had secured second place with 2,83,023 votes, while BJP's K Surendran finished third with 1,41,045 votes.
However, both fronts were unable to replicate their performance in the bypoll, despite a reduced voter turnout in the hill constituency.
Mokeri got 2,11,407 and BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's Navya Haridas came third with 1,09,939 votes.
Close to the announcement of the final counting results, Priyanka, in a post on social media platform X, thanked the people of Wayanad for electing her as their representative to the Parliament.
'My dearest sisters and brothers of Wayanad, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust you have placed in me. I will make sure that over time, you truly feel this victory has been your victory and the person you chose to represent you understands your hopes and dreams and fights for you as one of your own. I look forward to being your voice in Parliament!
'Thank you for giving me this honour and even more for the immense love you have given me,' she said.
In her post, Priyanka also thanked her colleagues in the UDF, leaders from across Kerala, workers, volunteers and everyone else who supported her and worked 'incredibly hard' in her poll campaign, by 'tolerating' her '12 hour a day (no food, no rest) car journeys, and for fighting like true soldiers for the ideals we all believe in'.
'To my mother, Robert and my two jewels- Raihan and Miraya, no gratitude is ever enough for the love and courage you give me. And to my brother, Rahul, you are the bravest of them all, thank you for showing me the way and having my back, always,' she said in her post on X.
