On November 7, Wayanad's UDF candidate Priyanka Gandhi gave her CPI rival Satyan Mokeri a surprise. She walked straight up to the stage where Mokeri was addressing a public gathering at the tribal-dominated Erumunda in Malappuram's Chungathara area. The candidates shook hands and had what seemed like a brief cordial conversation.
Next day, November 8, during a campaign stop at Muttil bus stand in Wayanad, Mokeri spoke of Priyanka's unexpected entry into his election meeting as a political triumph. He said it was an indication that Priyanka had sensed that the contest was getting tougher. " The candidate has come down so low from her towering sense of confidence that she had even thought of striking a friendly conversation with the LDF candidate," he said.
Later that day, at Kottathara, Mokeri was heard saying that the Congress and the CPI were now fighting at the same level. "She (Priyanka) came here thinking that she could win easily. The Congress had won for more than 4 lakh votes (2019) and 3.5 lakh votes (2024). This time they boasted that they would win by over 6 lakh votes. But now there is a level playing field," Mokeri said.As proof, the CPI candidate held up Priyanka's surprise entry to the LDF meeting at Erumunda. " She has now realised that it is not as easy as it seems," Mokeri said.
He said the situation in Wayanad now resembled 2014. That was the year Mokeri gave the Congress candidate M I Shanavas a run for his money. He shrank Shanavas's lead to 20,870 from 1,53,439 in 2009. "Now things have come to this level. The contest between Satyan Mokeri and Priyanka Gandhi is now on even ground," Mokeri said.
He said that in 2014, he led in all Wayanad segments like Mananthavady, Sulthan Bathery and Kalpetta. " I had a lead of over 17,000 votes in Wayanad district," he said. It was in the segments where the Muslim League was dominant that Mokeri had lost. Besides the three Wayanad Assembly constituencies, Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency is made up of Kozhikode's Thiruvambady Assembly and Malappuram's Ernad, Nilambur and Wandoor Assembly segments.
Mokeri also talked to Onmanorama about Priyanka's surprise visit. " Our meeting was in a tribal area in Nilambur. Though not a Left bastion, many people had turned up," Mokeri said. His understanding is that she was passing through the area as part of her road show. " I was speaking. She got out of her vehicle and walked straight up to the stage. I stopped speaking. 'How are you' she asked me. I told her that I felt happy and added that I was confident of a win," Mokeri said.This, according to Mokeri, made Priyanka curious. " She asked me what made me so confident. I told her what happened in 2014, and how the Congress managed to only scrape through that year," Mokeri said.
Further, the CPI candidate told Priyanka that Wayanad had a lot of issues that she was silent about. " I told her that she was not raising any development issues during the campaign. And I said the people are aware of this. Then I told her with a smile that this was why I was confident of a win," Mokeri said. Nonetheless, Mokeri conceded that he found Priyanka's manner "very touching".
