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SP pick richest among Sangam city mayor hopefuls
Prayagraj is set for a multi-cornered mayoral contest with 21 candidates running for the position. The richest among them is Ajay Srivastava of the Samajwadi Party, while the BJP?s Ganesh Kesarwani has the least assets. The Bahujan Samaj Party?s Saeed Ahmed and the Aam Aadmi Party?s Mohamad Qadeer also own assets worth crores of rupees. The election will take place on May 4, with vote counting on May 13.
The city seems set to witness an interesting multi-cornered contest for the coveted mayor post, currently held by Abhilasha Gupta Nandi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
As per the final list published on Thursday, the election will be fought between 21 candidates.
Among those fielded by major parties in the race, the richest is Ajay Srivastava of the Samajwadi Party (SP) while the BJP’s Ganesh Kesarwani has the least assets. The Bahujan Samaj Party’s Saeed Ahmed and the Aam Aadmi Party’s Mohamad Qadeer also own assets worth crores of rupees.
As per the affidavits submitted by the candidates, Srivastava has assets worth over ₹10.59 crore, out of which the movable ones are worth ₹1.68 crore.
Ajay is a graduate and has no police case registered against him.
Likewise, Saeed Ahmed declared properties worth ₹5.73 crore, out of which his movable assets are worth ₹59.58 lakh. Saeed, a high school pass-out, is booked in seven cases, including for cheating. He owns a 12-bigha land, a four-wheeler and a tractor.
Qadeer declared assets worth ₹3.62 crores, which include ₹1.72 crore worth of movable ones. One case each is registered against him at Kotwali and Naini police stations under the Explosive Substances Act. He also has a house worth ₹50 lakh and a commercial building worth ₹1 crore. Qadeer has completed his intermediate.
The BJP-fielded Kesarwani, a former district president of the party, was picked over the sitting mayor, Abhilasha Gupta Nandi--the wife of state cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’--despite her winning the previous two elections, one of which (2012) was as an independent candidate.
Similarly, the contests for the 100 wards of the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation will be fought by 908 candidates; 64 aspirants are vying for the posts of president in the eight nagar panchayats, and 520 others for the posts of members in the civic bodies.
Thursday was also the last day of the withdrawal of nominations ahead of the civic polls in Prayagraj on May 4. The poll symbol allotment to the candidates was completed by the district election office on Friday.
Meanwhile, district magistrate/district election officer Sanjay Kumar Khatri inspected the preparations for the counting of votes that is to be held in Mundera Mandi on May 13.
PHOTO: Umesh Chandra Ganesh Kesarwani
PHOTO: Ajay Kumar Srivastava
PHOTO: Prabha Shankar Mishra
PHOTO: Saeed Ahmad
PHOTO: Mohd Qadir
(Pls Note: Photos have been saved with individual’s name)
