Lok Sabha Bypoll: Wayanad records lowest-ever turnout. ‘A big thank you…,’ says Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

Wayanad Lok Sabha seat recorded a voter turnout of 64.24 percent in the bypoll on November 13, Election Commission of India said. This was the lowest polling percentage recorded in the seat since its first election in 2009.

Congress General Secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her electoral debut from the constituency in Kerala, previously represented by her brother Rahul Gandhi. Rahul won Wayanad in 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Rahul, however, decided to vacate Wayanad and retain Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh, which he also won in the 2024 general elections.

In the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, Wayanad recorded 72.92 percent voter turn out. In 2019, the seat saw a 80.33 percent turnout. Rahul Gandhi contested from Wayanad first time in 2019 and won.

In 2014, the seat recorded 73.25 per cent voter turnout while in 2009, when the first Lok Sabha election was held from the seat, the voter turnout was 74.76 per cent.

In the bypoll, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is pitted against Left Democratic Front candidate Sathyan Mokeri, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee Navya Haridas, and 13 others in Wayanad.

Rahul Gandhi won the seat in 2019, 2024

Rahul Gandhi won Wayanad with a victory margin of 3.5 lakh votes in 2024. In 2019, the margin was over 4.3 lakh votes. Rahul also campaigned for her sister for the Wayanad bypoll.

Priyanka thanked people for exercising their franchise and said they are an inspiration for her to work even harder as well as keep fighting for the ideals the nation was built on.

"To the people of Wayanad who have given me their love and welcomed me with open arms, a big huge thank you for coming out in all your strength and exercising your democratic right," she said in a post on X.

Voting was held in Wayanad on Wednesday, months after the hill district witnessed a landslide killing 231 persons and leaving dozens missing. The administration had set up polling booths for the survivors from affected villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Attamala during voting on Wednesday.