The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced Navya Haridas as their candidate to run against Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Wayanad by-elections for the Lok Sabha. With this, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be making her electoral debut. The Wayanad seat became vacant after Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, chose to retain his Rae Bareli seat in Uttar Pradesh following his victories in both constituencies.

The Wayanad by-election was prompted after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, having won both Wayanad and Raebareli, chose to retain the Raebareli seat.

Who Is Navya Haridas?

Navya Haridas is a mechanical engineer. She earned her B.Tech degree in 2007 from KMCT Engineering College, Calicut University. Her husband is Shobhin Shyam.

Haridas, the BJP's candidate for the by-election, currently holds the position of State General Secretary for the BJP Mahila Morcha. She has served two terms as a councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation and leads the BJP's parliamentary party there. In 2021, she ran as the NDA candidate for the Kozhikode South constituency in the Assembly election.

ALSO READ: Kerala Bypolls: BJP Pits Navya Haridas Against Priyanka Gandhi Vadra In Wayanad

Haridas ran for the Kozhikode South constituency in the 2021 Assembly election but finished third. In the previous Lok Sabha election, BJP state president K Surendran contested against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad, also finishing third.

According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Navya has no criminal cases against her and owns assets worth Rs 1,29,56,264. As per ADR, she also has total liabilities of Rs 1,64,978. She filed an affidavit with the Election Commission during the 2021 Assembly election.