Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed her thanks to the people of Wayanad after her landslide victory in the recently concluded by-polls. Priyanka emerged with a massive margin of 4,10,931 votes--higher than even Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s margin of 3,64,422 votes--in her debut election.
Reacting to her victory, Priyanka Gandhi said in a statement: "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 also added, “My colleagues in the UDF, leaders from across Kerala, workers, volunteers and my office colleagues who worked incredibly hard in this campaign, thank you for your support, for tolerating my 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."
State unit Congress president and Kannur MP (Lok Sabha) KSudhakaran said that the people of Kerala have broken the back of the BJP and voted against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s governance. “This is a vote against Vijayan as in Palakkad you see the huge margin of votes for Rahul Mamkoothathil, and the reduced margin of victory for the CPI-M at Chelakkara,” he said.
In the Palakkad Assembly constituency, touted to be atriangular fight, state Youth Congress President Rahul Mamkoothathil won with 18,840 votes. In the Chelakkara Assembly constituency, the CPI-M retained their seat when former legislator UR Pradeep won with a margin of 12,201 votes. While the Congress and the CPI-M retained their seats, the BJP did not win any seat. However, it managed to keep second place in Palakkad, though with around 10,000 votes less.