Want to serve Wayanad, just like mother looks after children: Priyanka Gandhi
Wayanad (PTI): Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is making her electoral debut as the UDF candidate in the Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll, on Thursday said her sentiments about serving the people of the hill constituency are the same as those of a mother towards her children.
Priyanka, on the last day of her second leg of bypoll campaign, said that if she was given a chance, she would fight for the people of Wayanad not only in the Parliament, but on every other platform.
The Congress leader also referred to the love her brother -- Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi -- has for Wayanad and urged the people of the hill constituency to vote for her so that she can help them for the affection and support they have shown to her family.
Priyanka also reiterated her accusations against the BJP-led Centre, saying that their politics has harmed farmers and small business owners in the country.
Addressing corner meetings at Akampadam and Pothukallu in Eranad and Nilambur assembly constituencies in Malappuram district, she said even the farmers and small businesses in Wayanad were reeling under debts, despite the huge potential of the hill constituency, due to the lack of support from the government.
The Congress leader claimed that the reason for this was the politics of fear, hatred and divisiveness being played by the BJP and said that politics of this kind was not needed in the country.
She has been consistently raising these issues during the last four days of her five-day long bypoll campaigning in the hill constituency.
The Wayanad 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.
The by-election for the Wayanad seat became necessary after Rahul Gandhi, who won Lok Sabha seats from both Wayanad and Raebareli decided to vacate Wayanad.
The bypoll for the Wayanad seat is set for November 13.
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No need for guv: DMK leader Kanimozhi
Chennai (PTI): Senior DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Friday reiterated her party’s opposition to the office of the governor amid uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu after a fractured election mandate.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Kanimozhi emphasised that the DMK’s demand for the abolition of the governor’s post remained unchanged, especially as questions arise over constitutional propriety during the current political transition.
"Our position that we do not need a governor at all is something the DMK has never changed at any point in time," she said.
When asked about the governor’s actions following the election results—particularly the delay in inviting the leading party to form the government—Kanimozhi pointed to what she described as the "inherent friction" between the office of the governor and the political interests of the state.
She said the current situation "raises a lot of questions" and requires introspection regarding constitutional procedures.
Kanimozhi described the election results as lacking a "clear mandate", which she identified as the primary reason for the prevailing political uncertainty in the state.
"What the people decide is supreme," she said, adding that while the mandate was not decisive, it must be respected.
The Thoothukudi MP attributed the ongoing delays and "many confusions" to the absence of a decisive majority for any single party.
She firmly dismissed rumours about the DMK potentially supporting the AIADMK from outside to help stabilise the government.
She described such reports as mere "speculation" and "rumours".
"We can’t be responding to every rumour," she said, declining to comment on the AIADMK’s claims regarding its numbers to form the government.
The political situation in Tamil Nadu remains fluid as stakeholders await the governor’s next constitutional step in an Assembly where no party has secured a clear majority.
The DMK and AIADMK—both of which suffered significant losses to the TVK—are reportedly exploring tactical manoeuvres to navigate the hung Assembly.
The TVK, with 108 seats and the support of Congress’s five MLAs, is still short of the majority mark. The DMK and AIADMK secured 59 and 47 seats, respectively.
