Ghaziabad: Runner-up Cong’s vote share increased from 7.34% to 35.17%

The voting figures indicate that BJP’s Garg won all four segments of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Loni, Muradnagar but he lost Dhaulana, similar to his predecessor and former MP general VK Singh (retired) in 2019

While urban voters in Sahibabad, Ghaziabad and Muradnagar segments turned the tide in favour of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Atul Garg, who won the Ghaziabad seat by a margin of 336,965 votes, vote share data shows that runner-up Congress candidate Dolly Sharma also performed well with her vote share surging from 7.34% in 2019 to 35.17% in 2024.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s Atul Garg, who was elected MP of Ghaziabad on Tuesday. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Garg’s victory margin was third highest in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP). The highest winning margin was 559,472, secured by BJP candidate and two-time MP Dr Mahesh Sharma from Gautam Budh Nagar. The second highest margin of 390,030 votes was secured by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who contested from Rae Bareli.

According to figures of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Atul Garg secured 854,170 votes while Dolly Sharma could secure only 517,205 votes.

The final result sheet (form 20) shows that the urban segments of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad and Muradnagar voted heavily in favour of Garg.

The figures indicate that Garg won all the four segments of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Loni, Muradnagar but he lost Dhaulana, similar to his predecessor and former MP general VK Singh (retired) in 2019.

Garg also said he lost Dhaulana segment not because of “Kshatriya discontent” but due to the consolidation of votes in favour of Sharma.

“The votes of minorities and also the traditional vote bank of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got consolidated in favour of the Congress candidate and that increased their vote share hugely. This was probably due to the Pichhda Dalit Alpsankhyak (PDA, or backward, Dalit and minorities) theory and the campaign that there was threat to the Constitution,” Garg said.

The BSP this time could not secure any of the 80 seats in UP and its candidate in Ghaziabad, Nand Kishor Pundhir, could secure only 79,525 votes.

Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief and alliance partner of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, had floated the strategy of PDA these elections.

As a result, the SP single-handedly trounced the BJP in Uttar Pradesh with winning 37 of 80 seats, while its partner, the Congress, secured six seats.

“We secured votes from all classes and segments and improved our vote share. We worked hard and we admit that in urban segments, we could not spread our message properly and in time. The vote bank of the BSP, including its core voters, also came to us this election,” said Vinit Tyagi, district president, Congress.

According to Form-20 figures, Garg’s victory margin against Dolly Sharma was 191,184, 63,256, 21,854 and 767,68 in the segments of Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Loni and Muradnagar, respectively.

Sharma led Garg in Dhaulana segment by a margin of 16,725 votes, the figures indicate.

Political experts said BJP lost major vote share due to low voter turnout.

“The people who did not come out to vote was primarily BJP’s vote bank. The INDIA bloc parties were successful in connecting to common man with their agendas. They received majority votes of minorities and made huge inroads into BSP’s vote bank,” said KK Sharma, associate professor (history) from CCS University, Meerut.