Wayanad Bypoll: The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) announced that all by-elections will take place within six months, but the Wayanad bypoll will be postponed until weather conditions improve, citing the recent landslide as the reason for the delay.
The decision of CEC comes in the aftermath of landslides in Wayanad district, Kerala, which claimed over 200 lives and severely disrupted life in the region. On July 30, 2024, landslides struck multiple villages including Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, Meppadi, and Kunhome in Vythiri taluk, leading to widespread destruction and the disappearance of two villages overnight.
After the disaster, PM Modi visited the landslide-hit Wayanad last Saturday. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi visited Wayanad for two days and learned the first hand scenario in the district.
Wayanad Bypolls
The Wayanad by-election was necessitated after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi chose to retain Rae Bareli, vacating his seat in Wayanad. Gandhi, who won both Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh and Wayanad in the recent Lok Sabha elections, had expressed difficulty in deciding which seat to vacate. Ultimately, he opted to leave Wayanad.
In the June elections, Gandhi secured a significant victory in Wayanad, defeating his nearest rival, Annie Raja of the Communist Party of India, by a margin of 3,64,422 votes.
Meanwhile, this is the first election BJP secured a seat in the god's own country.
In the upcoming bypoll, attention is now focused on whether Priyanka Gandhi will contest the seat and if she can replicate her brother’s substantial win. The choice of candidates from the LDF and NDA will also be closely watched as the election approaches.
In 2019, Rahul Gandhi secured a massive victory in the seat. He won the seat even though he lost in his hometurf of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.
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