Wayanad (Kerala), Nov 12 (PTI) A total of 16 candidates, including Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, CPI's Sathyan Mokeri and BJP's Navya Haridas, are vying for the support of the over 14 lakh voters in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency where a bypoll will be held on Wednesday.
The constituency, which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi won this year with a victory margin of over 3.5 lakh votes, was vacated by him following his success in the Rae Bareli LS seat also, necessitating a bypoll in Wayanad.
While the Congress plans to retain the seat -- considered to be a UDF bastion -- by fielding Rahul's sister Priyanka, the CPI and the BJP are hoping to wrest the hill constituency from the grand old party.
On Monday, the last day of by-election campaigning in the hill constituency saw roadshows by all three major political fronts, with Rahul showing up in person to garner support for his sister, who is making her electoral debut.
The Congress is banking on Rahul's tenure as Wayanad MP from 2019 to 2024 and his popularity among the people of Wayanad to retain the constituency.
On the other hand, both the LDF and the BJP have been accusing the Congress leader of abandoning the constituency after his win in order to sway public opinion in their favour.
They also contended that Priyanka would, like her brother, be rarely seen in the constituency if she wins, a claim she refuted by saying that she will come regularly to Wayanad till the people tell her to stay away.
Meanwhile, extensive preparations have been made in the constituency, where a bypoll was announced by the Election Commission on October 15.
The Wayanad LS constituency comprises seven Assembly segments - Mananthavady (ST), Sulthan Bathery (ST), and Kalpetta in Wayanad district; Thiruvambady in Kozhikode district; and Eranad, Nilambur, and Wandoor in Malappuram district.
Several companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Armed police Battalion have been deployed for election duties in the seven assembly segments, according to details shared by the respective district administrations.
Polling will be conducted in over 1,000 booths across the constituency and special security arrangements have been made at the places where there was a Maoist presence or which are considered to be trouble-prone, the district administration said.
The preparations also include setting up 24-hour control rooms and round-the-clock police patrolling ahead of the polling, which will commence at 7 am on Wednesday.
The Malappuram district administration said that since the model code of conduct came into effect, police have seized 13.1729 kilograms of ganja, 76.25 grams of MDMA, 30 liters of Indian-made foreign liquor, Rs 50,98,300 in cash and 719.8 grams of gold from the district.
Besides that, a country-made gun and 12 rounds of ammunition were seized from the Nilambur police station limits, it added.
The counting of votes will be done on November 23.