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Lok Sabha Elections2019: In GB Nagar seat, Congress leaders put aside differences to take on opposition
Right after the Congress had announced the name of Dr Arvind Singh Chauhan as its candidate from the Gautam Budh Nagar Lok Sabha seat, many senior leaders, including Raghuraj Singh and Pitambar Sharma, had started protesting, saying that Dr Singh is an outsider, not a member of their party.
Congress leaders in the district, who were miffed at the party’s choice of candidate for the Gautam Budh Nagar constituency, have now accepted the nomination of Dr Arvind Singh and agreed to support him in the upcoming general elections.
Local party leaders said they have decided to put their differences aside to give a tough fight to the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) candidate Dr Mahesh Sharma and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) – Samajwadi Party (SP) alliance candidate Satveer Nagar.
Right after the Congress had announced its candidature for the seat, many senior leaders, including Raghuraj Singh and Pitambar Sharma, had started protesting, saying that Dr Singh is an outsider, not a member of their party, and had migrated from the BSP, as he contested the last general polls on a BSP ticket, and that Singh’s father Jaiveer Singh is a BJP leader from Aligarh.
“Now, all our workers, who had been previously angry, have resolved their differences and are supporting the party in the campaign. They have put all differences aside to win this seat. They have started canvassing in all segments, which are part of the Gautam Budh Nagar parliamentary constituency. We will win this seat because there is huge anti-incumbency against the BJP government,” Dr Chayanika Uniyal Panda, secretary of Congress’ women’s wing and the wing’s research department head, said.
Panda has been appointed as observer by the party for the seat and she is managing the campaign.
Senior party leader Raghuraj Singh said, “We have decided to support Dr Singh because we do not want to weaken our campaign against BJP government that has ruined the country due to its faulty policies. We had protested against our candidate as the Congress is a democratic party and allows us to communicate our differences, if any.” Raghuraj had been vying for a Congress ticket for the seat.
Dr Singh, on Wednesday, campaigned in Khurja with his supporters. Congress workers canvassed in sectors 11, 12 and 22, including commercial areas. They have also readied a new party election office in Barola in Sector 41. Dr Singh is likely to open the office on Thursday.
“We are trying to reach out to farmers and tell them only our party can work for their welfare. Our party believes in welfare of farmers, unlike the BJP,” Dr Singh said.
