Wayanad Bypoll 2024: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has nominated Navya Haridas to contest against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the byelection for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, South India. The party announced her candidature on Saturday through a list of candidates for the Lok Sabha and Assembly byelections.
Who Is BJP's Wayanad Candidate Navya Haridas?
Navya Haridas, aged 39 years, obtained a B.Tech degree from KMCT Engineering College, affiliated with Calicut University, in 2007. She is a software engineer by profession and currently serves as the parliamentary party leader for the BJP in the corporation. She is also the state general secretary of the BJP's Mahila Morcha, according to her Facebook page.
Navya Haridas previously stood as a candidate for the BJP in the 2021 Assembly elections, contesting from the Kozhikode South seat, where she finished third. She has also served as a councillor from Kozhikode Cooperative. In the 2021 Assembly elections, Navya received 24,873 votes. Ahmed Deverkovil of the Indian National League defeated Noorbeena Rashid of the Indian Union Muslim League by a margin of 12,459 votes, securing 52,557 votes.
According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), there are no criminal cases registered against Navya Haridas. She currently holds the position of State General Secretary in the BJP Mahila Morcha. As per the ADR, Navya Haridas owns assets worth Rs 1,29,56,264 and has a total liability of Rs 1,64,978.
Wayanad Bypoll 2024
The Wayanad seat represents a significant prestige battle for the Congress, the BJP, and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF). Priyanka Gandhi is contesting from this seat on behalf of Congress after Rahul Gandhi vacated the Wayanad seat, retaining his MP seat from Rae Bareli causing for the byelection to be held for the now-vacant seat.
Since announcing Priyanka's candidature, the Congress, led by Mallikarjun Kharge, amped up campaign efforts to build upon the previous victory margin achieved by Rahul Gandhi.
Meanwhile, the LDF has slammed Rahul Gandhi’s decision to vacate the Wayanad seat.
According to news agency PTI, LDF candidate and senior CPI leader Sathyan Mokeri questioned Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi's commitment to the Wayanad constituency asking, "Look at the stand taken by Rahul Gandhi. He won and then left. How many days was he here? Those who come to contest like this and then leave, cannot address the developmental and other problems faced by the people of the constituency."
The byelection for Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency will be held on November 13.