Gzb bypolls: BJP, independent candidates win one seat each in civic body

The two seats for which the election was held on December 17 are in Ward 19 of Patel Nagar and Mukund Nagar while Ward 21 comprises Bhovapur

Ghaziabad: The counting for the two bypoll seats for the post of councillors of the municipal corporation ended on Thursday with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging as the winner on one seat while an independent candidate bagged the other seat, officials said. The counting for the two seats was carried out with the help of 23 electronic voting machines (EVMs), they added.

Ghaziabad BJP candidate Ranjit Kalyani from Ward 19 celebrates after winning the Ghaziabad Municipal Councilor by-election in Ghaziabad on Thursday. (SAKIB ALI/HT)

The two seats for which the election was held on December 17 are in Ward 19 of Patel Nagar and Mukund Nagar while Ward 21 comprises Bhovapur.

Both seats fell vacant due to the deaths of sitting councillors: Urmila Chauhan of the BJP from Ward 19 and Anand Kumar Gautam, an independent, from Ward 21.

“The counting was held on Thursday for the two seats, and one seat of Ward 19 was won by the BJP candidate while that of Ward 21 was won by an independent candidate. The counting was held through 23 electronic voting machines (EVMs) with 11 EVMs used for polling in Ward 19 and 12 EVMs used for Ward 21. In all, the counting ended in one and a half hours, and the final results were declared by 9.30am,” said Sudhir Tyagi, the returning officer.

Officials said that Ranjita Kalyani, 46, of the BJP won the Ward 19 seat. Kalyani secured 1,806 votes, while her nearest rival, Rekha Makwana from the Congress, secured 1,357 votes.

Priyanka Handa from Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) secured 555 votes for a third spot, while Rajkumari, an independent, secured 310 votes.

Twenty-one votes were polled in favour of NOTA.

According to official figures, a total of 4,049 votes were polled for the Ward 19 seat, which was reserved for Scheduled Caste (women) candidates.

In Ward 21, a total of 3,524 votes were polled. The seat was reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.

Of these, 34-year-old Reema Gautam, an independent candidate, won the seat after securing 2,157 votes, while the BJP’s Binnu Ram followed with 1,172 votes. The Congress candidate came in third with 172 votes, while 23 votes were polled in favour of NOTA.

During the previous May 2023 local body polls, BJP dominated the councillors’ seats in the Ghaziabad municipal corporation securing victory in 66 wards, while the independent candidates secured 14 seats.

The BJP also has an elected city mayor, Sunita Dayal.

On the other hand, the opposition parties in May 2023 collectively secured only 20 seats. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) clinched three seats for the first time, while the Apni Jantantrik Party and the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) secured two seats each. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), and Congress gained five, five, and three seats, respectively.

“Several independents joined the BJP later on, and our strength stood at 78. Due to the death of one of our councillors, the total was 77. Now, one councillor’s seat has again been won by the BJP, and with this, the party’s total strength in the 100-member house is 78. We also have a majority in the executive committee with nine members of the BJP out of a total of 12 members,” said Sunita Dayal, mayor.