Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi made her Lok Sabha debut in November after winning a landslide victory in Wayanad constituency. However, BJP contestant Naniya Haridas on Sunday maintained that the winning candidate submitted “misleading” nomination documents and hid some important details during the election process. The remarks came just hours after CPI(M) leader A Vijayaraghavan also sparked controversy by claiming that the “Muslim Community Alliance” played a role in her election victory.
“We filed an election petition in the High Court yesterday against Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. It clearly states that the nomination papers are misleading and many important things are hidden in the nomination papers like the nomination papers are missing assets of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her family,” the BJP leader said.
The former Lok Sabha election candidate from Wayanad said a complaint was also submitted to the Election Commission earlier but no result was forthcoming.
The Wayanad seat is contested in three rounds between the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won the seat with a huge margin of 4,10,931 votes, defeating CPM candidate Sathyan Mokeri. Haridas secured the third position with a total of 1,09,939 votes.
However, CPI(M) politburo member A Vijayaraghavan claimed on Saturday that the “Muslim Community Alliance” helped Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi achieve back-to-back victories in Wayanad.
“Who is in the front row and the back row of Priyanka Gandhi’s march? The worst extremists among the minorities are among them. They are with the Congress leadership. Without the support of the Muslim Community Alliance, the Ra Is it possible for Kul Gandhi to reach Delhi? He was quoted as saying at an event in the region.
The Congress party has sharply rebutted both claims – party leader Pramod Tiwari dismissed Haridas’ challenge as an act of “cheap publicity”.
“Some people have the habit of giving cheap publicity. Navya Haridas is one of them… Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won the election by a margin of Rs 4-5 lakh,” Tiwari told ANI on Sunday.
(Based on input from each agency)