Kerala’s Wayanad will follow the path of Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir, said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha candidate Navya Haridas. The techie-turned-politician, who has been active in politics since 2015, believes three major factors will work in her favour: anti-incumbency against the Congress and the Gandhi family, her body of work as a local politician, and the Modi factor.
She believes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the hearts of the people of Wayanad, which was proven when the people of the state gave the BJP its first-ever win in Thrissur in Lok Sabha polls. Wayanad would be the second seat in the BJP’s kitty, she said.
Just before embarking on her public rally near Kalpetta, Navya stated that she is confident of winning the seat and is not nervous about this high-profile contest, which marks the electoral debut of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi. She acknowledged Priyanka as a known face but pointed out her lack of electoral experience. Given how the Gandhi family and the Congress have misused the trust of the people of Wayanad, a BJP victory is certain, she said.
“Not only will our margin be higher than before, but people will also give us a second win in Kerala. The people neither support the Left, who have failed in their governance, nor do they trust the Gandhis, who have taken the Wayanad people for granted. This will be a major swing factor in our favour,” said the former software engineer, who left her corporate job to plunge into politics full-time in 2019.
Wayanad is seeing an interesting contest, with candidates from the Left and BJP having political experience, while Congress’s high-profile candidate Priyanka Gandhi makes her electoral debut. Veteran CPI leader Sathyan Mokeri is contesting on the LDF ticket, alongside Navya from the BJP.
For the BJP candidate, Priyanka Gandhi is just another candidate in the fray and does not deter her commitment towards the people of Wayanad, she said.
“When the landslides occurred in Wayanad, the people felt they had no one to represent them. They were left high and dry. The people have recognised that the Nehru family was not with them in their times of need. Rahul Gandhi wanted to retain the seat of Raebareli and just discarded the people of Wayanad. They have now fielded Priyanka Gandhi who is fighting her first election. What the Congress and the Gandhis did will not be tolerated by the people of the region,” she told News18.
In Kerala, during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, while the NDA managed to secure victory in only one seat in Thrissur which was won by veteran actor Suresh Gopi, the party’s vote share grew from 15.64 per cent in 2019 to 19.23 per cent in 2024. The BJP contested 16 seats while its ally, the BDJS, fought on four.
Navya’s Political Journey
For Navya, it all started when she received a call from the Kerala BJP unit while on a long holiday in 2015. Her husband had just been transferred to Brazil, and she was in her hometown, Karapparamba ward, in the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation when she was approached. Coming from a politically active family, she is the first member of her family to contest elections. She was asked to contest the corporation ward where she lived, which was reserved for women.
“The ward they wanted me to contest from saw a tight contest, but the BJP would always end up in third place, behind the UDF and LDF. We took it up as a challenge,” she recalled about her first election.
She became a councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation in 2015 and retained the same seat in 2020. She is also the BJP state general secretary of the Mahila Morcha.
“I thought if I won the seat, I would continue to work wholeheartedly for the people. If I lost, I thought I could go abroad and join my family. But the future had other plans for me. I won the election and have been dedicated to serving the people of my constituency,” she reflected on her first election, where she won by a margin of 120 votes.
In the 2020 local body polls, she won again, and her work with the people of her ward proved fruitful as she won by over 500 votes, thus cementing her party’s position. She is now one of seven BJP councillors in the 75-member corporation in Kozhikode.
She previously contested from the Kozhikode South Assembly constituency in the 2021 elections but came in third after INL’s Ahamed Devarkovil and IUML’s Noorbeena Rasheed. Devarkovil won the elections with 44.15 per cent of the votes, while Haridas secured 20.89 per cent.
Navya believes that her connection as a woman candidate, along with her body of work and Modi magic, will work in favour of the BJP in this seat, which is seen as a backward region in need of development and progress. The recent floods that ravaged the district have also been a major focus of her election strategy, and she promises to deliver support to the people with the help of the BJP at the centre.
For Navya, her family also plays an important role. She credits the support of her parents, husband, and children as she embarks on this tight political contest.
“There have been times when my children needed me, and I have not been able to be with them. Right now, my children are in the middle of their school examinations, and I am here campaigning. But they understand. My parents and husband have been so supportive in my political journey. Though it hurts that I am unable to be with the kids when they need me most, when I see them encourage me, I feel more empowered,” said the mother of two.
The Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll will take place on November 13 and the counting of votes will be held on November 23.
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