‘Stand up for democracy’: Priyanka Gandhi urges Wayanad voters

Congress-led UDF candidate Priyanka Gandhi on Monday urged the voters to stand up for democracy while asserting that the Constitution has given them (voters) to decide on what kind of politics they want in the nation.

“Stand up for democracy, you have to stand up for your country and you have to recognise the kind of politics that you are seeing. My brother is standing for the truth and fighting against a huge force all by himself. You were the first who recognised it,” said Priyanka while addressing a meeting in Kenichira, Sultan Bathery in Kerala.

“I have no doubt, that you know, what is good for our nation, you know what is right and you will stand for it again. For me, each one of you represents a sense of duty and responsibility. Every time, you met me with love, you hug me, you kiss me, you call me into your homes, you bring me a flower, I know what it means,” she added.

“It means that you expect a commitment from me. You expect honesty from me, you expect loyalty from me. And you expect me to understand, what a privilege, what an honour it is for me that you give me your love. So, I want you to know that I fully understand and I am grateful to you. If you give me the chance to represent you in Parliament, I will show you that I can work harder than anybody else. I will voice your grievances everywhere, I will fight for you, I will put pressure on the governments, state and Central government and you will see, that you will have by your side a tough fighter who doesn’t back down when your needs are questioned,” said Priyanka.

She also attacked the BJP, saying that the politics of the BJP is only focused on distracting the people from problems as its only aim is to remain in power.

“Think about where our country stands today, where the politics of the BJP is. The BJP politics is of hatred, anger, divisiveness and distractions. The real issues of the people are not discussed, real problems are not resolved,” she added.

Priyanka has been in Wayanad since Sunday for the forthcoming Wayanad bypolls.

Priyanka Gandhi is pitted against CPI veteran Sathyan Mokeri and Navya Haridas from the BJP. Rahul Gandhi won the 2019 general elections with a margin of 4.60 lakh from Wayanad which came down to 3.64 lakh in the 2024 general elections.

After Rahul Gandhi decided to vacate the Wayanad seat, the AICC asked Priyanka to contest from the Wayanad.

Wayanad constituency is spread across seven Assembly constituencies in three districts – Wayanad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode.

Of the seven, four are held by the Congress-led UDF, two by the CPI-M and one was won by the Left-backed independent legislator P.V. Anvar who has now split up with the ruling Left and floated his own party.