Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election: Drop in polling won't affect Priyanka Gandhi's winning margin, says Congress leader Venugopal
The Hindu
Wayanad bypoll sees 65% voter turnout, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expected to win despite decline, parties analyze reasons.
The drop in polling percentage in the Wayanad Lok Sabha by-election would not affect the margin the Congress expects for its candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal said on Thursday (November 14, 2024).
The Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, where Priyanka made her electoral debut, saw a voter turnout of around 65% during the bypoll on Wednesday (November 13, 2024).
This was a decline from the nearly 74% turnout recorded in the April polls, when her brother and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi contested from the hill constituency.
Responding to queries on this, Mr. Venugopal said, "According to our initial assessment, the low polling percentage would not affect the margin we expect for Priyanka-ji." He said that the AICC general secretary would win with a thumping majority but noted that the party and the UDF would examine the reasons behind the drop in polling percentage.
"We are holding a meeting at the panchayat level with booth agents to study the reasons for the decline in poll percentage," Mr. Venugopal added.
The final voter turnout percentage released by the Election Commission (EC) at close to 9 pm on Wednesday (November 13, 2024) was 64.72%.
According to the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan, the lower turnout is due to a lack of enthusiasm among voters in areas dominated by the CPI(M)-led LDF.
