I will be always with you, says Priyanka Gandhi on first Wayanad visit after victory

Malappuram (Kerala), Nov 30 (IANS) Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who arrived in Wayanad on Saturday for the first time after winning her first Lok Sabha poll from the Kerala constituency, said this is just the beginning and she would always be with its people, who gave her lots of love and affection. 

At all four places she visited, she was received by a massive crowd which has now become a regular thing, each time she has visited the constituency, right from the time she filed her nomination.

At her last public reception of the day, which began with her roadshow at Edavanna, she began her address by saying that she wants to thank all from the deepest part of her heart for the love and affection that they have given her.

"I have come here for two days just to go around my constituency to say thanks to all of you. No matter how many times I say thank you, I know it’s not enough. You stood with my brother at his most difficult time. You gave him support and comfort. So I thank him also for trusting me and choosing me to stand here. He respects all of you deeply," Priyanka Gandhi said.

"In the fight to protect our Constitution, the people of Wayanad have stood for what’s right. You have raised your voice again and again for the truth and I am proud and honoured to be your representative," she added.

"I will prove to you how an MP should work for the people and I know I am going to work hard to raise your voice in parliament and at all venues. Because of the love you have given me, I will never waver on my path forward," the Congress leader stressed.

"We begin this journey together, it’s a journey filled with love from both sides. I have met lots of people, children, young and old and students. This is just the beginning I want to meet all of you come to your homes find out your problems and find a solution to your problems," she said.

Her programme is planned in such a way that she will address a meeting at seven centres, one each in every Assembly segment of the constituency that spans the Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Wayanad districts.

On Saturday, she finished going around the Kozhikode and Malappuram districts and on Sunday she will address meetings at the Wayanad, Sulthan Bathery and Mananthavady Assembly constituencies and then return to Delhi.

She is being accompanied by her brother and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi who also addressed the meetings.

Earlier in the day soon after arriving at the Kozhikode airport, Priyanka Gandhi told the media that she was happy to be back.

"I am really happy to be back and am ready to start work for the people of Wayanad to help them to have a better life," she said.

Priyanka Gandhi clinched her electoral victory in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll with a commanding margin of 4,10,931 votes.

Incidentally, she bettered the victory margin of 3.60 lakh votes of her brother Rahul Gandhi, which he got in the April Lok Sabha polls, but fell short of his margin of 4.30 lakh votes which he won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The bypoll was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi vacated the seat earlier this year to retain the family's UP pocket borough of Rae Bareli.

During the campaign, the primary question revolved around whether Priyanka Gandhi could surpass her brother’s record-breaking margin. Priyanka Gandhi’s victory marks a significant moment in her political journey, coming nearly 20 years after she first campaigned for her mother, Sonia Gandhi, in Rae Bareli and her brother in Amethi during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

Her debut as an elected representative is seen as a pivotal step in solidifying the Congress’ presence in Kerala and revitalising the party’s fortunes at the national level.