Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who secured a victory from Wayanad, Kerala, took oath as a Lok Sabha MP on Thursday, donning a traditional Kerala Kasavu saree—an off-white garment with a gold border, commonly worn during Malayali celebrations.
With a copy of the Constitution in hand, the 52-year-old was sworn in before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, with MPs in attendance.
Present at the ceremony were her brother and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, mother Sonia Gandhi, husband Robert Vadra, their children and party President Mallikarjun Kharge.
For the first time in decades, Parliament now includes three members of the Gandhi family due to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s entry to the Lok Sabha. Their mother, Sonia Gandhi, is in the Rajya Sabha since she chose not to run from Raebareli in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi will remain in the Lok Sabha.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was fielded from Wayanad when Rahul Gandhi, who had won from both Raebareli and Wayanad, decided to keep his family stronghold and vacated Wayanad. She received more votes than Rahul Gandhi received in the 2024 elections—6.22 lakh—and defeated Sathyan Mokeri, her closest CPM opponent, by more than four lakh.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed her delight about representing the people in Parliament after winning the election.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust you have placed in me. I will make sure that over time, you truly feel this victory has been your victory and the person you chose to represent you understands your hopes and dreams and fights for you as one of your own. I look forward to being your voice in Parliament,” she had said.
By a margin of 3.64 lakh votes, Rahul Gandhi won a landslide victory in Wayanad, gaining 6.47 lakh votes. In the elections of 2019 and 2024, he won the seat twice.
Congress leader Ravindra Chavan, who defeated his BJP opponent from Nanded in a Lok Sabha by-election held in that seat, also took oath as an MP in addition to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
On Facebook, Robert Vadra shared pictures of Priyanka Gandhi taking the oath and said, “Congratulations.”
Priyanka Gandhi’s oath-taking ceremony, however, prompted a dig from Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP IT cell. “New Muslim League MP from Wayanad takes oath. Epoch moment for the Gandhi family,” he tweeted.
Priyanka and Politics
In 2019, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra became involved in politics when she was named the general secretary of the Congress of eastern Uttar Pradesh. She was given control of the entire state a year later.
She was instrumental in leading the grand old party in Uttar Pradesh and other states in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, even though her party did not perform well in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The notion that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would be selected from Raebareli was the subject of much speculation. Due to organisational obligations, she chose not to run.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra oversaw the INDIA bloc, which consisted of the Congress and Samajwadi Party. They secured 43 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, halting the BJP’s momentum and preventing the saffron party from surpassing the 272 majority threshold.
She also helped her party win Raebareli, where Rahul Gandhi ran and Amethi, where Kishori Lal Sharma, an aide to the Gandhi family, defeated Smriti Irani, a BJP politician and then-Union Minister.
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