Sultan Bathery: It was a heartwarming moment for Thressia, an elderly Wayanad native, when Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi made an unexpected visit to her home in Bathery on Tuesday night. Thressia, a longtime admirer of the Gandhi family, had always been eager to catch a glimpse of Rahul Gandhi during his visits to Bathery. However, this time, her injured leg kept her from walking down to see Priyanka in person.
When Thressia's son, Binoy—a former soldier—shared his mother’s deep admiration for the Congress general secretary and her inability to come outside due to health issues, Priyanka didn’t hesitate. She stepped out of her vehicle and walked the 200 meters to Thressia's house.
Initially, Priyanka had planned to visit on her way back, but upon hearing about Thressia's condition, she changed her mind and went to meet her immediately. The surprise on Thressia's face when she saw Priyanka at her door was a moment of pure joy. The elderly woman embraced Priyanka warmly. The Congress leader spent about 15 minutes with the family. As Priyanka prepared to leave, Thressia, with a smile on her face, offered her sweets and a rosary.
“I deeply admire Rahul, Priyanka and Sonia Gandhi. Priyanka is like a daughter to me. I offered some sweets to her and asked her to give them to Rahul and Sonia Gandhi as well. She accepted the rosary and said she'd keep it with the rosary Mother Teresa gifted her. She added that I am her second friend in Wayanad,” an excited Thressia told Manorama News on Wednesday.
Priyanka, accompanied by her mother, Sonia Gandhi, was in Wayanad to file her nomination for the Lok Sabha bypoll. Earlier in the day, Priyanka and Sonia Gandhi had arrived in Mysore, where Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar welcomed them. They reached Wayanad by road ahead of Priyanka's nomination filing and a grand roadshow scheduled for Wednesday morning in Kalpetta. She will contest against CPI veteran Sathyan Mokeri and BJP's Navya Haridas in Wayanad.
