With the nomination process ending on Monday, the stage is set for voting for the Iglas assembly bypoll in Aligarh district on October 21.
The seat fell vacant after the election of BJP candidate Rajveer Diler in the recently held Lok Sabha election.
The seat was won twice by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in 2007 and 2012, but the BJP emerged victorious in the 2017 assembly election.
The Modi wave in 2017 assembly election led to the success of the BJP and Rajveer Diler won the seat by a record margin. In 2012, RLD candidate Triloki Ram Diwakar won from this Jat dominated seat by defeating BSP candidate Rajendra Kumar by a margin of about 9,000 votes.
The RLD is a force to reckon with on this Jat dominated seat. It had won in 2007 assembly election when Vimlesh Singh defeated the BSP’s Mukul Upadhyay. The Samajwadi Party had been contesting this seat, but never won from Iglas.
RLD vice-president Jayant Chaudhary is in Iglas to begin the campaign in support of the party’s candidate.
This time, the SP has not fielded its candidate and extended support to the RLD, which changed its candidate at the last moment. Earlier, Mukesh Dhangar was the RLD-SP combine candidate, but Suman Diwakar was finally named as candidate on Sunday evening.
{{/usCountry}}This time, the SP has not fielded its candidate and extended support to the RLD, which changed its candidate at the last moment. Earlier, Mukesh Dhangar was the RLD-SP combine candidate, but Suman Diwakar was finally named as candidate on Sunday evening.
{{/usCountry}}On Monday, Suman Diwakar turned up for the nomination at the last moment without Form B, but produced it later. Officials at the nomination centre said she was late in bringing the form. The matter will be sorted out during scrutiny of nomination papers on Tuesday.
RLD state president Masood Ahmad accused officials of working at the behest of the ruling party.
BJP candidate Raj Kumar Sahyogi also filed his nomination. He was accompanied by minister in state cabinet Suresh Rana, a prominent Jat leader of western UP.
Earlier, Congress candidate Umesh Diwakar, BSP’s Abhay Kumar Bunty and others also filed nomination. The bypoll results will be declared on October 24.