The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has declared its candidates for the upcoming by-elections in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency and Palakkad and Chelakkara assembly seats. Navya Haridas, currently the Mahila Morcha state general secretary, will contest from Wayanad, where she will face Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Haridas, a prominent youth figure in the BJP's Malabar region, has served as a two-term representative in Kozhikode Corporation and is the BJP's parliamentary party leader there. She previously contested in the 2021 assembly elections from Kozhikode South, securing third place.
For the Palakkad assembly seat, the BJP has selected state general secretary C. Krishna Kumar, while K. Balakrishnan will stand for the Chelakkara reserved constituency. The by-elections will be held on November 13, with vote counting scheduled for November 23.
The Wayanad seat became vacant after Rahul Gandhi, former Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, vacated it earlier this year. The Communist Party of India (CPI) has fielded veteran leader Sathyan Mokeri for the same seat, setting up a high-profile battle in this key constituency.
