Ghaziabad assembly by-poll: 14 candidates in fray after scrutiny

The Ghaziabad assembly seat fell vacant after incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Atul Garg contested and won the 2024 Lok Sabha election this June

On Monday, the day for scrutiny of nominations, eight of a total of 26 nominations filed by different aspirants for the upcoming Ghaziabad assembly by-poll were rejected by district election officers on account of various discrepancies in the forms.

After scrutiny process, 18 forms related to 14 candidates were cleared while eight forms related to five candidates were rejected, said district election officials. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

After scrutiny process, 18 forms related to 14 candidates were cleared while eight forms related to five candidates were rejected, said district election officials. Several candidates filed more than one nomination form, a practice adopted by some to avoid rejection of candidature due to minor mistakes in forms during scrutiny process.

The Ghaziabad assembly seat fell vacant after incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Atul Garg contested and won the 2024 Lok Sabha election this June. The by-poll will be held on November 13 and the counting on November 23, officials said.

“Overall, 26 nominations were filed by 19 prospective candidates and eight of these forms were rejected after scrutiny. In all, we have 14 candidates in the fray, as some candidates filed multiple forms,” said Santosh Pandey, city magistrate and returning officer.

According to the Election Commission schedule, the last date for withdrawal of candidature is October 30.

“The 14 candidates whose nominations were accepted can opt for withdrawal of nominations till October 30. After that, the list of final contesting candidates will be released,” Pandey said.

According to the district administration, the assembly seat has 461,360 voters (based on electoral-rolls’ revision up to October 15), which include 254,017 men, 207,314 women voters and 29 transgenders.

The district also has 119 polling centres and 506 polling booths. Four zonal magistrates and 22 sector magistrates were deployed on duty besides 16 other senior officials assigned different poll-related work.