Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made a powerful election debut by winning the Wayanad by-poll by over 4 lakh votes on Saturday.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won the seat, which was previously held by her brother and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for two terms, by over 4,08,036 votes.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said she is looking forward to being the voice of the people of Wayanad in the Parliament.

Thanking the voters of the southern seat, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote on X: "My dearest sisters and brothers of Wayanad,
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!"

"Thank you for giving me this honour and even more for the immense love you have given me," she said.

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"My colleagues in the UDF, leaders from across Kerala, workers, volunteers and my office colleagues who worked incredibly hard in this campaign, thank you for your support, for tolerating my 12 hour a day (no food, no rest) car journeys, and for fighting like true soldiers for the ideals we all believe in," the Congress leader said.

In her Parliament debut, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will enter the lower house by shattering Rahul Gandhi's record margin of 3,64,422 votes in the election held in the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in April 2024.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra secured 6,17,942 votes, while her rival and Left Democratic Front ( LDF) candidate Sathyan Mokeri got 2,09,906 votes and NDA candidate Navya Haridas polled 1,09,202 votes, UNI news agency reported.

Rahul Gandhi won the seat in 2019 and 2024.

The Congress general secretary became the candidate after Rahul Gandhi resigned keeping the other seat he won in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Rahul won from the Gandhi bastion Rae Bareli in 2024, five years after Wayanad saved his face after electoral defeat to former Union Minister Smriti Irani in Amethi.

Wayanad went to the by-polls on November 13.