Kerala’s Wayanad was the only bright spot for the Congress today as the Grand Old Party posted one of its worst performances in Maharashtra. In the Lok Sabha by-polls in Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra not only filled her brother Rahul Gandhi’s shoes, she did it in spades, surpassing his 2024 record vote margin by noon.
Where Rahul Gandhi had a margin of 3.65 lakh votes in the Lok Sabha election held earlier this year, Ms Gandhi Vadra secured over 6.12 lakh votes, beating her nearest rival, CPM’s Sathyan Mokeri by over 4.1 lakh votes. But her overall votes were lower than that of Mr Gandhi due to the low turnout.
The turnout in the seat, which has over 14 lakh registered voters, was around 65 per cent – down from the close to 74 per cent in the Lok Sabha polls held in April and much lower than the 80 per cent-plus turnout of 2019, when Mr Gandhi had made it the second seat he was contesting from.
After winning from Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh as well, Mr Gandhi had vacated the Wayanad seat. The party nominated his sister, paving the way for her electoral debut in the Lok Sabha. During the announcement, Mr Gandhi had guaranteed her work and said the constituency would now have two people to look after it — he and his sister.
Buoyed by the victory, Ms Gandhi Vadra said she was “overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust” the people of Wayanad had placed in her.
“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,” the Congress general secretary said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
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…— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) November 23, 2024
But the Congress performance in the other two states – Maharashtra especially – has come as a shock to the party, which was hoping to build on its Lok Sabha performance.
In Maharashtra, where the BJP is headed for a sweeping victory, a chunk of its seats has come at the cost of the Congress, which is 29 seats down from its 2019 score of 44. The party is currently leading in 15 seats out of the 101 seats it contested — a score barely over its Lok Sabha tally.
In the Lok Sabha polls held barely six months ago, the Congress had won 13 of Maharashtra’s 48 Lok Sabha seats on which rested its hopes of a big win and the Chief Minister post. Its key leaders in the state had refused to name Uddhav Thackeray as the candidate, saying the party that gets the most seats would get the post.
The Congress said it was difficult to digest the outcome in Maharashtra.
“We are absolutely surprised… The state President Nana F. Patole lost, 8-time winner Vijay Balasaheb Thorat was vanquished, veteran ex-chief minister Prithviraj Chavan was defeated… The Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar survived by a hair’s breadth,” said AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala, asking if the Ladki Behen scheme ended farmers’ troubles, price rise, unemployment and corruption.
The performance of Mr Thackeray’s Sena is marginally better than the Congress – the Shiv Sena UBT is leading on 20 of the 95 seats it contested, five more than 2019.
Sharad Pawar’s faction of the NCP has posted one of its worst performances, being ahead only in 12 of the 86 seats it contested, one less than 2019.
