With Surat court dumping Rahul Gandhi's plea, will Congress field Priyanka Gandhi in Wayanad?

Given that Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from serving as a Member of Parliament (MP), it is now uncertain whether there would be a by-election in Wayanad, the district he represented.

Wayanad: All eyes are once again focused on Wayanad after the Surat Sessions Court rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea for a stay of conviction in the 2019 defamation case on Thursday. Given that Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from serving as a Member of Parliament (MP), it is now uncertain whether there would be a by-election in Wayanad, the district constituency he represented.

The Election Commission (EC) was expected to announce a by-election concurrently with the Karnataka elections. The EC did not, however, take quick action. The dates for states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh elections will also be announced soon.

When by-elections are announced in Wayanad, the next question is who will be contesting for Congress. Since Rahul was disqualified, Priyanka Gandhi has been in the news frequently.  Additionally, the Congress leadership has stated that Priyanka's name will also be taken into consideration. Priyanka accompanied Rahul Gandhi when he visited Wayanad for the first time following his disqualification. There are rumours that Priyanka Gandhi will be fielded for Congress in Wayanad for her maiden election. Priyanka had previously participated in campaigning when Rahul contested in 2019.

Rahul Gandhi had sought a stay on his conviction in the 2019 defamation case on the 'Modi surname' remark.  Now, the Congress leader will move High Court to challenge the sessions court's order. On April 13, the Additional Sessions court in Surat reserved its verdict for April 20.

Gandhi referred to his conviction as "erroneous" and "patently perverse" and claimed that the trial court handled him unfairly as a result of being heavily influenced by the fact that he was an MP.

“The appellant has been treated harshly at the stage of determination of sentence taking into account his position as a Member of Parliament, hence the far-reaching implications would have been in the knowledge of the trial court,” he said.