Priyanka Gandhi, a Congress leader, is performing better than expected in her first election, contesting from Wayanad in Kerala. She took over the seat after her brother, Rahul Gandhi, left it following his win in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Currently, Priyanka is leading by 3,77,517 votes, which is more than the margin her brother won by from the same seat.
In the 2024 elections, Rahul Gandhi won Wayanad with 6,47,445 votes, beating his opponent by 3,64,422 votes.
As of now, Priyanka has secured 5,78,526 votes and counting is still ongoing. Sathyan Mokeri from the Communist Party of India (CPI) is far behind with 2,02,261 votes, while BJP candidate Navya Haridas is in third place with 1,06,724 votes.
Priyanka is contesting as a candidate of the Congress-led UDF alliance in the hilly constituency. After four hours of counting, her lead had already crossed 3.5 lakh votes.
Congress and its ally, the Indian Union Muslim League, predicted that Priyanka would receive more votes than Rahul Gandhi did earlier and win by a historic margin.