Priyanka Gandhi to file nomination next week as campaigns gather momentum in Wayanad

Kalpetta: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is expected to kickstart her campaign in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency next week as the campaign for the byelection gathers momentum for the bypoll necessitated by her brother Rahul Gandhi's decision to retain the Rae Bareli seat.

Meanwhile, the LDF candidate Sathyan Mokery is all set to start the campaign on Saturday.

Priyanka is expected to arrive in the district on October 22, and the tentative date for filing nominations is October 23. She is expected to spend 10 days in the constituency and campaign in Chelakkara, where a byelection to the state assembly is also being held. 

The BJP has yet to announce its candidate for the LS bypoll. Though Tamil actress Kushboo Sundar's name is doing rounds, even the BJP leaders have not confirmed her candidature.   

Congress MLA IC Balakrishnan said the party has not decided on the date to file the nomination. "There is all possibility that she will come down to file a nomination on October 22 or 23," he said. "The UDF election campaign conventions will be held in all the seven legislative constituencies on  Saturday," Balakrishnan told Onmanroama. "The party machinery is well-oiled and all the workers are excited over the entry of Priyanka Gandhi into the poll scene", he said.