In Kerala, Congress buoyed by Priyanka’s Wayanad debut despite dip in Rahul votes

While the Congress is enthused over Kerala’s Wayanad Lok Sabha seat becoming Priyanka Gandhi’s launching pad in electoral politics, the decline in Rahul Gandhi’s winning margin in the recent elections suggests various shortcomings in the party organisation and its campaigning in the constituency.

The Congress in Kerala is pinning its hopes mainly on Priyanka’s star value rather than its groundwork in the high-profile constituency to win votes. The Lok Sabha elections saw a pro-Congress wave sweep through Kerala, particularly in the northern part of the state. The party won 18 of the state’s 20 Lok Sabha seats, a one-seat decline from 2019. Its overall vote share fell from 37.46% in 2019 to 35.06% this time.

While most Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) candidates saw their winning margins increase sharply compared to the 2019 polls, Wayanad remained an exception despite having Rahul as the candidate. Rahul’s winning margin fell from 4.31 lakh in 2019 to 3.64 lakh in 2024, even as some UDF candidates doubled their margins. Rahul’s vote share dipped to 59.69% this time from 64.64% in 2019.

“There was an impression in the party leadership that with Rahul as the candidate, people would flow spontaneously to the booths to cast their votes in favour of the Congress. We had several star campaigners from the national level. Many leaders did not work despite the party pumping enough money,” a Congress leader said. “In Wayanad, we could not cash in on the anti-incumbency factor to the full extent due to the organisational weaknesses. Voting was not on the expected lines in many party strongholds in the constituency. Otherwise, the margin of Rahul would not have come down. By raising a hype over Priyanka’s candidature, the