Kerala’s Wayanad will follow the path of Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir, says Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha candidate Navya Haridas. The technician-turned-politician, who has been active in politics since 2015, believes that three main factors will help him: anti-incumbency against the Congress and the Gandhi family, his body of work as a local politician, and the Modi factor. .
He believes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has won the hearts of the people of Wayanad, which was proven when the people of the state gave the BJP its first win in Thrissur in the Lok Sabha polls. Wayanad will be the second seat in BJP’s kitty, he said.
Before starting a rally near Kalpetta, Navya said she was confident of winning the seat and was not nervous about this high-profile contest, which marks Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s electoral debut. He admits Priyanka is a familiar face, but she has no electoral experience. Given how the Gandhi family and the Congress abused the trust of the people of Wayanad, BJP’s victory was certain, he said.
“Not only will our margin be higher than before, but people will also give us a second win in Kerala. People do not support the Left, which has failed in its government, and they do not trust Gandhi, who treats the people of Wayanad. This will be a major swing factor for us,” said the former software engineer, who left his corporate job to plunge into full-time politics in 2019.
Wayanad is seeing an interesting contest, with candidates from the Left and BJP having political experience, while high-profile Congress candidate Priyanka Gandhi is making her electoral debut. Veteran CPI leader Sathyan Mokeri is contesting on LDF ticket, along with BJP’s Navya.
For the BJP candidate, Priyanka Gandhi is just another candidate in the fray and does not detract from her commitment to the people of Wayanad, he said.
“When there was a landslide in Wayanad, the people felt that there was no one to represent them. They were left high and dry. People have realized that Nehru’s family was not there in their time. Rahul Gandhi wants to retain the Raebareli seat and throw only those in Wayanad. He is now up against Priyanka Gandhi who is contesting the first election. What the Congress and the Gandhis are doing will not be acceptable to the people of the region,” he told News18.
In Kerala, during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, while the NDA managed to win only one seat in Thrissur won by veteran actor Suresh Gopi, the party’s vote share increased from 15.64 percent in 2019 to 19.23 percent in 2024. The BJP bagged 16 seats. , while its allies, BDJS, fought in four.
Navya’s Political Journey
For Navya, it all started when she received a call from the Kerala BJP unit during a long vacation in 2015. Her husband had just been transferred to Brazil, and she was in her hometown, Karapparamba ward, in the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation when she was approached. Coming from a politically active family, he was the first member of his family to contest an election. She was asked to contest in the ward of the company where she lived, which was reserved for women.
“The ward I wanted to contest saw a tight contest, but the BJP was always in third place, behind the UDF and the LDF. We took it as a challenge,” he recalled of the first election.
He became a board member of Kozhikode Corporation in 2015 and retained the same seat in 2020. He is also the state general secretary of BJP Mahila Morcha.
“I think if I win the seat, I will continue to work for the people. If I lose, I think I can go abroad and join my family. But the future has other plans for me. I won the election and have dedicated myself to serving the people of my constituency,” he reflected on his first election, where he won by a margin of 120 votes.
In the 2020 local body polls, he won again, and his work with the people of his ward proved fruitful as he won by more than 500 votes, thus strengthening the party’s position. He is currently one of the seven BJP councilors in the 75-member corporation in Kozhikode.
He had previously contested from the Kozhikode South Assembly constituency in the 2021 elections but came third behind INL’s Ahamed Devarkovil and IUML’s Noorbeena Rasheed. Devarkovil won the election with 44.15 percent of the votes, while Haridas got 20.89 percent.
Navya believes that her connections as a woman candidate, along with Modi’s body of work and magic, will support the BJP in this seat, which is seen as a backward area that needs development and progress. The recent floods that ravaged the district were also a major focus of his election strategy, and he promised to extend support to the people with the help of the BJP at the centre.
For Navya, her family also plays an important role. He had the support of his parents, his wife, and his children as he embarked on this rigorous political contest.
“There are times when my children need me, and I can’t be with them. Now my children are taking school exams, I’m here campaigning. But they understand. My parents and my husband have supported my political journey. Even though it hurts me not to be able to be with them with the children when they need it most, but when I see them supporting me, I feel stronger,” said the mother of two.
The Wayanad Lok Sabha elections will be held on November 13 and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.
