New Delhi- As polling for the first phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections and on the Wayanad parliamentary seat in Kerala was underway, senior Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Wednesday asserted that his party would taste victory in the Assembly polls and also on the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat.

Sandeep Dikshit asserted, "I am expecting that large number of people will come and cast their votes today. I hope that the polls will be conducted peacefully. We are also hoping that there should be no irregularities in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). I think that the EVMs should not work as agents of any political party."

"See in the case of Wayanad, I am expecting the Congress to win there for sure. Priyanka Gandhi will win with a majority of votes. But, if we talk about the Jharkhand Assembly polls, there the INDIA Bloc will come to power again. Hemant Soren will form the government this time too," he added.

Meanwhile, the Congress-led UDF candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was all smiles on Wednesday as voters in Wayanad began queuing up to elect their new MP. Wearing a bright yellow saree with a red vermilion mark on her forehead, Priyanka greeted voters warmly, adding charm to the polling day atmosphere.

"I am confident that the people of Wayanad will give me the chance to represent them. My expectations are already being fulfilled, seeing the love and support of people coming out in large numbers," Priyanka remarked after visiting a few polling booths.

Throughout the day, she is expected to visit polling stations across Wayanad, Kozhikode, and Malappuram districts. Her campaign team has set an ambitious target of winning by a margin of 5 lakh votes, which would require a voter turnout of over 80 per cent.

By mid-morning, about 35 per cent of the 14.71 lakh eligible voters had cast their votes, and it remains to be seen if turnout will reach the crucial 80 per cent mark. In the 2019 elections, when Rahul Gandhi contested from Wayanad, the voter turnout was 80.37 per cent, and he won with a significant margin of 4.31 lakh votes.

However, in April 2024, his margin reduced to 3.64 lakh votes with a turnout of 73.57 per cent. Campaign managers, however, remain optimistic about achieving the 5 lakh vote margin, banking on a potential decline in support for the CPI and BJP candidates.

The BJP, led by state president K. Surendran, made significant gains in 2024, doubling their vote count from the 2014 elections. All eyes are now on how much support CPI candidate Sathyan Mokeri and BJP's young contender Navya Haridas can garner. The question now is whether Priyanka can surpass Rahul’s previous margin of 4.31 lakh votes, which will likely depend on achieving that 80 per cent voter turnout.

Meanwhile, voting for the first phase of the Jharkhand Assembly elections is being held with 43 of the state's 81 seats across 15 districts going to poll.

In Jharkhand, the ruling JMM has fielded 23 candidates and its allies Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have put forward 17 and 5 candidates, respectively. The Opposition BJP has fielded 36 candidates, while the Janata Dal-United (JDU) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have nominated 2 and 7 candidates, respectively.

The second phase of elections will be held on November 20 and the votes will be counted on November 23.

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