Wayanad: Voters in the Chelakkara Assembly and Wayanad Lok Sabha constituencies will cast their ballots on November 13. Polls will open at 7 am, joining a nationwide election exercise across 31 seats in 10 states. Voting will take place in seven seats in Rajasthan, six in West Bengal, five in Assam, four in Bihar, three in Karnataka, two in Madhya Pradesh, and one each in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Meghalaya. Counting is scheduled for November 23.
Wayanad Byelection
In Wayanad, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra faces her first electoral contest, aiming to retain the Congress stronghold and possibly expand the victory margin established by her brother, Rahul Gandhi, in past elections. Her primary challengers are LDF’s Sathyan Mokeri and NDA’s Navya Haridas, who have focused their campaign on Priyanka's lack of political experience and concerns over absentee representation, referencing Rahul's alleged minimal presence in the constituency after his victories.
A total of 16 candidates, including Priyanka, Mokeri, and Haridas, will vie for the support of over 1.4 million registered voters in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency. Rahul won Wayanad in 2019 with a 4.3 lakh vote margin and again in 2024 with over 3.5 lakh votes but vacated the seat following his win in Raebareli.
Monday marked the final day of campaigning, with all three major political fronts holding rallies. Rahul Gandhi joined the campaign trail in person to support his sister's debut in Wayanad, which includes seven Assembly segments: Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram.
Significant security arrangements have been put in place across more than 1,000 polling booths, with CRPF and Armed Police Battalion forces deployed. Areas with known Maoist activity or a history of unrest are under special surveillance. Control rooms and round-the-clock police patrols have also been established. Since the model code of conduct came into effect, police in Malappuram have seized drugs, illicit liquor, cash, and a country-made gun in connection with the elections.
Chelakkara Byelection
In Chelakkara, political enthusiasm is high as the constituency's nine panchayats—Kondazhi, Thiruvilwamala, Pazhayannur, Chelakkara, Panjal, Vallathol Nagar, Mullurkara, Varavoor, and Desamangalam—prepare to vote. The LDF currently holds six panchayats, while the UDF controls three. Key candidates include former MLA UR Pradeep for the CPM, Congress's Ramya Haridas, and BJP's K Balakrishnan.
Chelakkara has long been an LDF stronghold, with the party winning the past six Assembly elections, including a 39,400-vote victory margin in 2021. However, the lead dropped to 5,173 votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, fueling Congress's hopes of a breakthrough.
