Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made her election debut by contesting bypolls from Wayanad. However, the place has recorded a voter turnout of 64.72 per cent in the by-election, which is the lowest turnout since the Lok Sabha constituency’s inception in 2009.
Of the 1.47 million eligible voters, 952,543 cast their votes, including 497,788 women.
By 10 am, voter turnout stood at 13.91 per cent, rising to 35.70 per cent by 1 pm and 62.37 per cent by 5 pm.
District Collector DR Meghashree confirmed that no untoward incidents were reported during polling.
The by-election occurred months after a devastating landslide in the region, which claimed 231 lives, with 47 people still missing.
For the convenience of the voters, special polling booths for survivors from the affected villages of Mundakkai, Chooralmala and Attamala were set up in Meppadi.
The by-election was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat to retain his Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh.
A bypoll was also held in the Chelakkara Assembly constituency in Kerala’s Thrissur district, where voter turnout reached 72.54 per cent— way more than Wayanad.
As far as previous records are concerned, Wayanad recorded a turnout of 72.92 per cent in the general election earlier this year, a drop from 80.33 per cent in 2019, when Rahul Gandhi first contested from the seat.
This time, Priyanka faces competition from CPI’s Sathyan Mokeri and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Navya Haridas.
The dip in voter participation comes as the Congress aimed for a “majority of 500,000 votes” for Priyanka.
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