Ghaziabad by-poll: Vocal campaigning ends, all parties confident of victory

The administration officials said they are all geared up for the conduct of polling and teams will proceed to the polling stations on Tuesday

The election campaigning for the upcoming assembly by-poll, scheduled on November 20, ended Monday evening with parties and candidates making a final high decibel attempt to canvas votes for their respective candidates.

The Ghaziabad assembly constituency has 641,644 voters and 14 candidates are in the fray and according to district officials about 2,200-2,300 personnel will be deployed on polling duty. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The administration officials said they are all geared up for the conduct of polling and teams will proceed to the polling stations on Tuesday.

The Ghaziabad assembly constituency has 641,644 voters and 14 candidates are in the fray. District officials said about 2,200-2,300 personnel will be deployed on polling duty.

“The election campaigning ended Monday evening and now candidates cannot conduct public rallies, road shows or any sort of vocal campaigning. They can, however, go on door-to-door canvassing with not more than four people. Our preparations for polling are complete and we expect a good turnout on November 20,” said Santosh Kumar, city magistrate and returning officer.

Some of the prominent candidates in the fray include Sanjeev Sharma from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Singhraj Jatav from the Samajwadi Party and PN Garg from the Bahujan Samaj Party, among others.

The campaigning saw election rallies and public address by senior political leaders such as chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, among others.

Shamsher Rana, who is contesting as independent, was seen distributing his pamphlets during his campaigning. Rana has been an active member of the Tikait-led Bharatiya Kisan Union and participated in the farmers’ movement at UP-Gate in 2020.

“I decided to spend the least amount on campaigning, and resorted to door-to-door distribution of pamphlets on my own. That way, I drew the attention of voters. If they agree with my candidature, they will surely vote for me. If they don’t, then it doesn’t matter how much I spend on campaigning,” Rana said.

The list of other candidate include Poonam Chaudhary, wife of Hinud Raksha Dal chief Bhupendra Singh alias Pinki Chaudhary, who is known for carrying out agenda of Hidutva and is also allegedly involved in several controversial cases.

Majority of Chaudhary’s pamphlets carry pictures of her jailed husband. Her son said this was done to highlight injustice meted out to his father.

“The picture signifies the injustice done to my father. He tried to contest from jail, but certain conspiracies prevented him from doing so. This is why my mother is contesting and during campaign, we are also trying to awaken Hindus,” said Surya Chaudhary, Chaudhary’s son.

Pinki Chaudhary was sent to jail after the Ghaziabad police arrested him and aides for allegedly attacking poor Muslim workers near Guldhar railway station in August this year.

The BJP office bearers also said on Monday, they carried out a rally and door-to-door campaigns.

“Our party leaders supported our election campaign and we expect to win the assembly seat yet again. The turnout will also play a crucial role during the polling day,” said Pradeep Chaudhary, media coordinator, BJP’s city unit.