Meet Navya Haridas, 39-Year-Old BJP Candidate Pitted Against Priyanka Gandhi In Wayanad Bypoll

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced on Saturday that Navya Haridas would be their candidate for the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, where she will face Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra.

The bypoll for the Wayanad seat became necessary after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, now the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, was elected from Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh.

Photo Credit: https://www.facebook.com/navyaHaridasBJP

Gandhi chose to retain the Raebareli seat following his victory in both constituencies.

Who is Navya Haridas?

1. Navya Haridas, 39, holds a B-Tech degree in mechanical engineering from KMCT Engineering College, Calicut University, having graduated in 2007.

2. She has served as a councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation for two terms and is currently the Mahila Morcha State General Secretary in the BJP.

3. On her Facebook page, she describes herself as the BJP Parliamentary Party Leader and BJMM State General Secretary.

4. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Haridas has no criminal cases against her.

5. Haridas has assets worth Rs 1,29,56,264 and liabilities totalling Rs 1,64,978, as reported by the organisation.

Navya Haridas vs Priyanka Gandhi

Following Rahul Gandhi's decision to vacate Wayanad seat, Congress chose his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as their candidate, marking her electoral debut.

Since Priyanka's candidacy was announced, Congress, led by Mallikarjun Kharge, has been intensifying its campaign efforts with the aim of surpassing Rahul Gandhi's previous victory margin.

The Communist Party of India (CPI), a Congress ally in the opposition INDIA bloc, has decided to field Sathyan Mokeri to run against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Wayanad bypoll

The ECI announced that voting for the bypoll would take place on November 13, with the results to be declared on November 23.

Meanwhile, BJP state general secretary C Krishnakumar will contest the Palakkad Assembly constituency, where BJP hopes to achieve its strongest performance in the upcoming bypolls in the state.