Meet BJP’s Navya Haridas, the ‘accidental politician’ taking on Priyanka Gandhi in Wayanad

Navya, 39, is presently a councillor successful the Kozhikode municipal corp and the authorities wide caput of the BJP’s mahila morcha oregon women’s wing.

An engineering graduate, Navya’s introduction into authorities was besides accidental. After obtaining her BTech degree, Navya worked with HSBC Bank arsenic a bundle nonrecreational for two-and-a-half years. In 2009, she joined marine technologist Shobin Shyam and moved to Singapore, wherever she continued to enactment astatine assorted bundle firms.

Her household was associated with the Sangh Parivar, and Navya says she grew up seeing RSS meetings being held astatine her household location successful Kozhikode. She besides recalls taking portion successful RSS pupil activities. But authorities was obscurity successful the picture, says Navya.

Then, successful 2015, during a abbreviated travel to Kozhikode, she witnessed the section assemblage elections successful Kerala. And that changed everything. “I had returned to Kozhikode for a abbreviated abrogation with my children. It was predetermination time, and the BJP approached maine with a ticket, considering my family’s Sangh Parivar background. I was fielded from the wide spot successful the corporation. Overnight, I became the candidate. My program was to instrumentality to Singapore if I had lost.”

But Navya ne'er ended up going backmost to her firm life. She became a councillor successful 2015 and retained her spot again successful 2020.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, she took the large governmental plunge and was fielded arsenic the BJP campaigner from the Kozhikode South seat. She mislaid the spot to Indian National League campaigner Ahamed Devarkovil, but ended up expanding the BJP ballot stock from 16.56% successful the 2016 Assembly polls to 20.89% successful the 2021 polls.

Navya volition present look the biggest governmental conflict of her career, successful a spot that volition person the spotlight connected it due to the fact that of the Gandhis’ adjacent relation to it.

Wayanad and Rae Bareli were the 2 seats Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi contested successful the caller Lok Sabha polls. He retained the latter, necessitating a bypoll successful Wayanad. His sister Priyanka volition present marque her electoral debut from the spot — expanding the stakes for the Congress successful the state.

Navya says she is unfazed by the “profile of rival candidates” successful Wayanad. “Priyanka Gandhi’s acceptance is lone due to the fact that of her links with the Nehru family. Rahul Gandhi had breached a committedness to the radical of Wayanad. He abandoned the constituency lone to pave the mode for his sister. No different section Congress leaders were considered for Wayanad. They (the Gandhi family) are utilizing Wayanad to summation the dominance of their household successful politics,’’ says Navya.

She adds that her “educational background” arsenic good arsenic “the acceptance she gained arsenic a typical of the Kozhikode corporation” volition assistance her scope retired to people.

Navya, who has kicked disconnected her campaign, says 1 of the main talking points for her is the situation being faced by Wayanad successful the wellness and agrarian sectors. “The radical of Wayanad bash not person capable wellness facilities. A authorities aesculapian assemblage exists lone successful name. The landslide connected July 30 exposed however ecologically fragile Wayanad is… The farming assemblage is successful a situation owed to the predominant raids by chaotic animals… These are the problems we are facing,” she says.