The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has officially announced Navya Haridas as its candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election, set for 13 November. Haridas, a two-time councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation, will face off against Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the CPI's Sathyan Mokeri, the Left's candidate, in this high-profile contest.
As the BJP unveiled its candidate list for upcoming by-elections across several states, Navya Haridas was named as its candidate for Wayanad seat. A software engineer by profession, she currently serves as the parliamentary party leader for the BJP in the corporation and is also the state general secretary of the Mahila Morcha, according to her Facebook page.
The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat was vacated after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is now the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, opted to retain the Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh following his victory in both constituencies. In response, the Congress party decided to field Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, marking her electoral debut from Wayanad.
Bypolls 2024: BJP Announces Candidates For 24 Assembly Seats
In addition to the Wayanad byelection, the BJP also announced candidates for 24 assembly constituencies across eight states. Among these, former Member of Parliament Sunil Soni has been nominated to contest from the Raipur City South assembly seat in Chhattisgarh. The assembly bypolls will also be held in Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and West Bengal.
- Kerala: In addition to the Wayanad seat, BJP state general secretary C. Krishnakumar has been nominated to contest in the Palakkad Assembly constituency, where the party aims to secure a victory in the forthcoming bypolls. The BJP had previously achieved a commendable second place in Palakkad during the last Assembly elections, with ‘Metroman’ E. Sreedharan narrowly losing to Congress's Shafi Parambil in a close race.
While there was speculation about various high-profile leaders, including senior BJP figure Shobha Surendran, the party's high command ultimately settled on Krishnakumar as the candidate. The Congress candidate for Palakkad will be Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil, while the CPI(M) will field expelled Congress digital media convenor P. Sarin.
In the Chelakkara Assembly constituency, K. Balakrishnan has been named as the BJP candidate. The CPI(M) and Congress candidates for Chelakkara will be former MLA U. R. Pradeep and ex-MP Ramya Haridas, respectively. The by-elections are being held in Palakkad and Chelakkara following the election of the respective MLAs, Shafi Parambil and K. Radhakrishnan, to the Lok Sabha earlier this year.
- Chhattisgarh: Former MP Sunil Soni has been selected to contest the Raipur City South assembly seat. This seat became vacant after sitting MLA Brijmohan Agrawal resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha from Raipur. Soni's candidacy was confirmed by the BJP's Central Election Committee in New Delhi. Previously elected to the Lok Sabha in 2019, Soni had been one of four sitting MPs denied tickets for the 2024 general elections.
His political background includes serving as the mayor of Raipur from 2003 to 2010 and chairperson of the Raipur Development Authority. The Raipur City South seat has consistently been a BJP stronghold since its establishment in 2008, with Agrawal serving as the only MLA. According to PTI, Observers believe that Soni’s close ties with Agrawal could provide an advantage in the by-election.
- Karnataka: The BJP has named former MP Ramakant Bhargava as its candidate for the Budhni seat and ex-Congress leader Ramniwas Rawat for the Vijaypur constituency. The Budhni by-election was necessitated by the resignation of former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was elected to the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat. Chouhan, currently serving as the Union Agriculture Minister, represented Budhni for six consecutive terms since 2006.
- Madhya Pradesh: BJP has named former MP Ramakant Bhargava as its candidate for the Budhni seat and ex-Congress leader Ramniwas Rawat for the Vijaypur constituency. The Budhni by-election was necessitated by the resignation of former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was elected to the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat. Chouhan, currently serving as the Union Agriculture Minister, represented Budhni for six consecutive terms since 2006.
- Rajasthan: The BJP has declared candidates for six of the seven assembly seats in the upcoming by-polls. Jagmohan Meena will contest from Dausa, while Rajendra Bhambhu has been nominated from Jhunjhunu. The party also announced Sukhwant Singh for Ramgarh, Rajendra Gurjar for Deoli-Ujiara, Revant Ram Danga for Khinvsar, and Shanta Devi Meena for Salumbar.
The candidate for the Chorasi seat has yet to be announced. The by-elections in Ramgarh and Salumbar are necessitated by the deaths of the respective MLAs.
Here's the full list of BJP candidates for the bypolls:
- Kerala (Lok Sabha)
Wayanad: Navya Haridas
- Assam
Dholai: Nihar Ranjan Das
Behali: Diganta Ghatowar
Samaguri: Diplu Ranjan Sharma
- Bihar
Tarari: Vishal Prashant
Ramgarh: Ashok Kumar Singh
- Chhattisgarh
Raipur City South: Sunil Soni
- Karnataka
Shiggaon: Bharat Basavraj Bommai
Sandur (ST): Bangaru Hanumantu
- Kerala
Pallakkad: C Krishnakumar
Chelakkara (SC): K Balakrishnan
- Madhya Pradesh
Vijaypur: Ramnivas Rawat
Budhni: Ramakant Bhargav
- Rajasthan
Jhunjhunu: Rajendra Bhambu
Ramgarh: Sukhwant Singh
Dausa: Jagmohan Meena
Deoli-Uniara: Rajendra Gurjar
Khinwsar: Revant Ram Danga
Salumber (ST): Shanta Devi Meena
- West Bengal
Sitai (SC): Dipak Kumar Roy
Madarihat (ST): Rahul Lohar
Naihati: Rupak Mitra
Haroa: Bimal Das
Medinipur: Shubhajit Roy
Taldangra: Ananya Roy Chakraborty
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has scheduled the voting for the by-election on 13 November, with results to be declared on 23 November. A total of 47 assembly constituencies across 13 states will go to the polls on the same day. The ECI had previously announced the poll dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand on 15 October.