Triangular contest this time in BJP bastion Ghaziabad

A total of 14 candidates are in the fray, with the BJP fielding Atul Garg, the Congress picking Dolly Sharma, and the BSP nominating Nandkishor Pundhir

Ghaziabad

In the May 2023 polls, the BJP did well in city areas, winning the post of the city mayor as well 64 councillor seats in the 100-member house, however, the BSP pointed out that the voter turnout in urban areas is typically on the lower side. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The Ghaziabad parliamentary constituency is set for a triangular contest on Friday, with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) eyeing an upset in what is a bastion for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The seat is made up of five segments — Loni, Muradnagar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad and parts of Dhaulana — and has 2,941,624 registered voters.

A total of 14 candidates are in the fray, with the BJP fielding Ghaziabad legislator Atul Garg, the Congress — contesting the polls as the INDIA bloc constituent — picking Dolly Sharma, and the BSP nominating Nandkishor Pundhir.

The BJP comfortably won the Ghaziabad seat in the last three elections — Union minister Rajnath Singh won in 2009, while Gen VK Singh (retd) emerged victorious in the 2014 and 2019 polls. The legislators of all five assembly segments are also from the BJP.

The party suffered a setback in the local body elections in May 2023, losing three of the four Nagar Palika chairperson seats, and failing to win any of the four Nagar Panchayat chairperson seats in rural areas. It is on voters from these areas that the Congress is hoping to capitalise on.

“The local body election results show that there is undercurrent of discontent against the BJP, and our candidate will secure a win by margin of 100,000-200,000 votes,” Tyagi said.

In the May 2023 polls, the BJP did well in city areas, winning the post of the city mayor as well 64 councillor seats in the 100-member house. However, the BSP pointed out that the voter turnout in urban areas is typically on the lower side.

“The BJP has a presence in urban segments, where turnout remains low. If it dips further on April 26, we will get a huge win,” said BSP district president Dayaram Sain.

The BJP, however, said that they are expecting another huge win from the Ghaziabad seat.

“The Congress and the BSP candidates will face heavy defeats and their deposits will be forfeited. They can claim anything they want, but our victory margin is expected to be in the 600,000 range if the voter turnout is similar to what it was in 2019. If the turnout increases, our margin will increase accordingly,” said Ajay Sharma, the BJP’s Ghaziabad Lok Sabha convener.

Meanwhile, political experts said that the voter turnout — both urban and rural — may be crucial in determining which party wins the seat.

“This time, the voters have not revealed their cards. The low polling in phase 1 of the elections (on April 19) has also alarmed political parties. So, they are banking on the support of their core voters… The voter turnout in Ghaziabad will play a crucial role in deciding a win or loss for the candidates,” said KK Sharma, associate professor of history at CCS University, Meerut.