LS Bypolls

Priyanka Gandhi took the plunge into active politics in 2019 and was later appointed Congress general secretary

Priyanka Gandhi is up against Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate Satyan Mokeri and Navya Haridas of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

Tension prevailed in the entire area after the incident, prompting authorities to deploy additional police force to maintain law and order situation

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday emphasised that the primary struggle in the country today is to protect and preserve the Constitution. He said the Constitution of the country was not written with hatred, but with humility and love. The main fight in the country today, that is taking place, is the fight for the Constitution of our country. The protection that we get, the greatness of our country, all emerged from the Constitution, the Lok Sabha MP said while addressing a corner meeting in Mananthavady here as part of the campaign for his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Priyanka is the Congress candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll. The Constitution was not written with anger or with hatred. It was written by the people who fought the British, the people who had suffered, who spent years and years and years in jail. And they wrote the Constitution with humility, with love and with affection, he said. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha pointed out that this is a figh

Wayanad, a Congress bastion is going to see a contest between Congress's Priyanka Gandhi, BJP's Navya Haridas and the Left candidate Sathyan Mokeri in the upcoming bypolls

The namesakes of prominent candidates contesting as independents have impacted election outcomes in the past and the strategy appears to be making a comeback in the assembly bypolls in Palakkad and Chelakkara constituencies. As the three major political fronts -- LDF, UDF and NDA -- enter the second phase campaigns, three individuals with names resembling those of the Congress-led UDF candidates have entered the race as independents in the two assembly seats. In the Palakkad constituency, where a triangular contest is unfolding, two independent candidates -- Rahul Manalazhi and Rahul R Vadakanthara -- are posing a challenge for the UDF, which has fielded Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil. The grand old party alleged that these namesake candidates are backed by the CPI(M) and the BJP to confuse voters. "Our initial inquiries indicate that one candidate is a CPI(M) worker while the other is supported by the BJP. However, such tactics would not impact the UDF's prospec

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged that BJP was raking up the "Waqf issue" with an eye on the upcoming assembly by-polls in the state and elections in neighboring Maharashtra. Following allegations by a section of farmers in certain parts of the state that their lands were marked as Waqf properties, he reiterated that none of them will be evicted, and notices issued to them will be withdrawn. "BJP is doing politics. Notices were issued during their (BJP) tenure too, what do they have to say about it? During BJP's tenure over 200 notices were given. One should not practice such dual politics," Siddaramaiah said. Speaking to reporters here, the CM said, "I have already said that the notices will be withdrawn, where is the issue? In case the notices are issued they will be withdrawn and no one will be evicted, where is the issue?" "Whichever district it is...They (BJP) had also given notices in several districts. Why did they give? Why are they doing such politi

Priyanka Gandhi is contesting from the Wayanad constituency as a United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate, is seeking election from the seat her brother Rahul Gandhi vacated

Ruling LDF candidate in Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll Sathyan Mokeri on Wednesday criticised his UDF counterpart Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for leaving the constituency soon after filing nominations and said she would not be with the people of the hill segment if she wins from here. Like her brother Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka would also come here and go as a guest, and she wouldn't be present in the constituency, he alleged. The Left candidate came out with the criticism a day after Priyanka wrapped up her first round of corner meetings in the constituency as part of the campaign for the November 13 polls. A senior leader of the CPI and a former MLA, Mokeri, said the people of Wayanad experienced the result of electing Rahul Gandhi in the past five years and the voters could not even see him. He accused Rahul Gandhi of abandoning Wayanad the very next day after he was elected for the second time during the April Lok Sabha polls. "Now, the UDF candidate (Priyanka Gandhi) left the constituency s

The BJP on Thursday launched a vitriolic attack on the Gandhi family, saying Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's nomination from Wayanad was a victory of dynastic politics and defeat of merit. Addressing a press conference here at the BJP headquarters, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also alleged discrepancies in declaration of assets in Priyanaka Gandhi's poll affidavit and accused the Gandhi family of "insulting" Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, a Dalit, by not allowing him to join the filing of nomination inside the collector's office. "It's a victory of corruption of Gandhi family and dynastic politics and defeat of merit," he said slamming the Congress over nomination of Priyanka Gandhi from the Wayanad seat in Kerala. Bhatia claimed the assets declared by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in her poll affidavit are way below the assets she and her husband Robert Vadra possess. "Assets of Robert Vadra declared in the poll affidavit are lower than the Income Tax Department's demand.... T

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will mark her electoral debut by filing her nomination papers on Wednesday for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypoll in Wayanad. Priyanka arrived in the hill district on Tuesday night along with her mother, Congress Parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, reached the district subsequently. They will be accompanying Priyanka when she files her nomination papers before the District Collector. Besides them, chief ministers of Congress-ruled states and senior AICC leaders will also be present as a show of support to Priyanka. Priyanka, along with her brother Rahul Gandhi, will hold a roadshow at 11 AM in Kalpetta here before filing her nomination. At 11.45 AM, after the roadshow, there will be a public address by her and thereafter, she will file her nomination, according to her itinerary. She is pitted against LDF's Sathyan Mokeri and BJP's Navya Haridas. The

The BJP on Saturday fielded Navya Haridas from Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, where Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is contesting on a Congress ticket. The party also named 24 candidates for assembly polls across eight states. Former MP Sunil Soni will contest from the Raipur City South assembly in Chhattisgarh. Besides the central state, the BJP named its nominees for the assembly bypolls being held in Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and West Bengal.

Wayanad bypolls: Major landslides struck the hilly area of Wayanad on July 29, destroying some hundreds of homes and cutting off at least four villages from the rest of the region

The Election Commission on Monday announced bypolls to 13 assembly constituencies across seven states, including four in West Bengal, on July 10. The bypolls are to be held against vacancies created either due to deaths or resignation of incumbent members. The assembly seats going for bypolls are Rupauli (Bihar), Raiganj, Ranaghat Dakshin, Bagda and Maniktala (all West Bengal), Vikravandi (Tamil Nadu), Amarwara (Madhya Pradesh), Badrinath and Manglaur (Uttarakhand), Jalandhar West (Punjab) and Dehra, Hamirpur and Nalagarh (Himachal Pradesh). The notification for the elections will be issued on June 14, the last date for filing of nomination papers is June 21, the poll papers will be scrutinised on June 24 and the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is June 26. The bypolls will be held on July 10 and the counting of votes will be on July 13. The Election Commission said the bypolls have to be completed before July 15.

For the upcoming Lok Sabha bypolls in Mainpuri, the BJP has announced Raghuraj Singh Shakya's candidature.

His assertion proved prophetic on Sunday as he wrested the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat from the Aam Aadmi Party -- his first electoral victory in 23 years

Over 35 lakh people were eligible to vote in the bypolls in these two constituencies to decide the fate of 19 candidates

While Punjab recorded over 22% polling till 1 pm in the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, around 28% voters in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats in UP exercised their franchise in the first 6 hours of voting

The seat fell vacant following the death of sitting Independent member Mohan Delkar in February this year.

The Congress on Friday announced its candidates for the bye-elections in Tirupati and Belgaun Lok Sabha constituencies