Campaign in Noida, Ghaziabad ends with series of roadshows

Candidates from BJP, INDIA, and BSP held roadshows in Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar before Lok Sabha elections' second phase, focusing on local issues.

Candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) held extensive roadshows across the Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar parliamentary constituencies on Wednesday — the last day of canvassing for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections — before the model code of conduct came into force at 6pm.

The BJP’s Ghaziabad candidate Atul Garg in Ghaziabad on Wednesday. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The two seats are scheduled to go to polls on April 26.

The Ghaziabad seat is made up of five segments — Loni, Muradnagar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad and parts of Dhaulana— and has 2,941,624 registered voters. Meanwhile, the GB Nagar seat consists Noida, Dadri, and Jewar assembly segments in GB Nagar district, and Sikandrabad and Khurja in Bulandshahr district, and has 2,675,148 registered voters.

A total of 14 candidates are contesting the polls in Ghaziabad. They include Ghaziabad MLA Atul Garg, who has been fielded by the BJP, Dolly Sharma from the Congress — contesting the polls in Uttar Pradesh in association with the Samajwadi Party (SP), its INDIA bloc ally — and BSP’s pick Nandkishor Pundhir.

On the final day of campaigning, Garg held a major roadshow from the Gurdwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha in Bajaria to Shaheed Path in Navyug Market, passing through Ghanta Ghar, Anaj Mandi and Chopla. “The issues I focused on relate to the upgradation of ESI hospital in Sahibabad, the cleaning of the Hindon river, and ensuring that more flights get connected to different cities in UP from the civil airport at Hindon,” he said.

Mahesh Sharma, the BJP’s Gautam Budh Nagar candidate in Khurja. (HT Photo)

The BJP candidate said that two pressing issues in these elections are rashtrawad (nationalism) and Modiwad. “These two are core national issues,” he said.

Separately, Congress’s Sharma held a roadshow from her election office at Ambedkar Road, and her cavalcade went through the densely populated areas of Maliwara, Dasna Gate, Ramte Ram Road, and GT Road, before coming to an end at Ghanta Ghar.

“Our campaign focussed on local issues such as provision of drinking water supply and sewage infrastructure in Khoda, the pending issue of linking Sahibabad to Noida through a Metro line, the provision of a government hospital and degree college in trans-Hindon areas, the high pollution levels, and poor traffic infrastructure, among others,” said Congress district president Vinit Tyagi.

BSP’s Pundhir held a roadshow in Dhaulana. “Our party’s main agenda is bringing in development for all sections of society. The issues we touched upon include bringing in Metro line extensions and unemployment,” BSP district president Dayaram Sain said.

At GB Nagar, the BJP has fielded incumbent MP Dr Mahesh Sharma, the SP has nominated Dr Mahendra Nagar, while the BSP has picked Rajendra Solanki to contest from the seat.

BJP’s Sharma started his roadshow from Jatia hospital in Khurja at around 2pm, before visiting Jewar, Padam Singh Road, Kabadi Bazar, Kakrala, Subhash Road, and Nehrupur, among other areas.

“People are supporting us for the work done by our party under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath... Our party has made Jewar airport a reality that is set to bring investment, jobs and prosperity to this region,” said Manoj Gupta, BJP’s Noida unit president.

BSP’s Solanki started his roadshow from Chhijarsi and passed through Bahlolpur, Garhi Chaukhandi, Sorkha Jahidabad, Noida Extension, Surajpur, and Pari Chowk, before ending the rally at Kasna. He sought votes, assuring the people that he will work for farmers and homebuyers.

Meanwhile SP candidate Nagar first addressed a gathering in Achheja village, before taking out a roadshow through Dadri, Dhoom Manikpur, Bil Akbarpur and Kot, ending it at Sikandrabad.

SP functionaries said the meeting in Achheja was set up as a counter to a rally by Union minister Rajnath Singh. “We made it clear to the voters that the BJP has brought unemployment, inflation, corruption, and has brought no development in this region. We have said that SP is the party that will work for the betterment of the needy, the middle-class, and the farmers on whose land Noida and Greater Noida has been developed,” SP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhati said.