Kochi: A month after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won from the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, her election has been challenged.
BJP’s Navya Haridas, who finished a distant third behind Priyanka and CPI’s Sathyan Mokeri in the November byelection, has moved the Kerala High Court contesting the Congress general secretary’s victory.
Haridas has claimed in her petition that Priyanka did not correctly disclose her and her family’s assets in the nomination papers and provided “false information”. This is against the Model Code of Conduct and amounts to corrupt practices, contended the BJP leader who lost to Priyanka by over 5 lakh votes, reported PTI.
The matter is likely to come up for hearing in early January after the high court reopens following the December 23 to January 5 vacation.
Advocate Hari Kumar G Nair, who filed the petition for Haridas, said that the plea seeks setting aside of Priyanka’s election for allegedly “suppressing vital information about the various assets owned by her and her family”, and “misguiding, misinforming and keeping the voters in the dark with the intention of influencing their choice.”
Priyanka, who was fielded from Wayanad after her brother gave up the constituency to retain Rae Bareli, polled 6,22,338 votes in her maiden electoral foray. The CPI candidate got 211,407 votes and Haridas received 1,09,939 votes.
