GHAZIABAD: The Samajwadi Party (SP) declared its candidate for the post of mayor on Thursday, two days after nominations for municipal elections began in Ghaziabad.
None of the other major political parties have released lists of councilor candidates. Their district units claimed to have sent names of short-listed candidates to their respective state headquarters in Lucknow for approval.
Late on Thursday evening, Rashi Garg (36), was named by SP as its candidate in a list cleared by its national president Akhilesh Yadav. The name of Garg, who holds an MBA degree from a private institute in Bareilly, figured in a list that contained candidates for the post of mayor in Allahabad, Saharanpur and Kanpur apart from Ghaziabad.
"Our family has a non-political background except for my husband Abhisek Garg who has been an active member of the SP for the past 10 years. Apart from being involved in various social activities, I am an active member of the SP too," said Garg.
The SP had released names of its candidates for the post of chairpersons of four of the nine urban local bodies on Wednesday. According to sources, major political parties are playing a waiting game to avoid last-minute crossovers by candidates as well as to gain edge over rivals who name their candidates earlier.
"A screening committee formed at the district level has sent names of short-listed candidates for councilors to Lucknow. The top brass will decide the final list and allot symbols to candidates," SP city president J P Kashyap told TOI.
Nomination filing process has been slow with political parties holding their cards close to their chests. On Thursday, only seven nomination forms were received from councilor candidates ward members across all nine municipal bodies. Only a single form was submitted for the post of Dasna chairperson.
Aspirants have been flocking to the BJP office in anticipation of tickets. Senior BJP functionaries were busy conducting last-minute meetings over ticket distribution on Thursday.
Ghaziabad unit of the Congress has short-listed names of three candidates each for each civic body chief.
"This list has been sent to Lucknow and will have the final approval of state president Raj Babbar. The lists are expected to be finalized within the next couple of days," said Congress city president Harendra Kasana.
None of the other major political parties have released lists of councilor candidates. Their district units claimed to have sent names of short-listed candidates to their respective state headquarters in Lucknow for approval.
Late on Thursday evening, Rashi Garg (36), was named by SP as its candidate in a list cleared by its national president Akhilesh Yadav. The name of Garg, who holds an MBA degree from a private institute in Bareilly, figured in a list that contained candidates for the post of mayor in Allahabad, Saharanpur and Kanpur apart from Ghaziabad.
"Our family has a non-political background except for my husband Abhisek Garg who has been an active member of the SP for the past 10 years. Apart from being involved in various social activities, I am an active member of the SP too," said Garg.
The SP had released names of its candidates for the post of chairpersons of four of the nine urban local bodies on Wednesday. According to sources, major political parties are playing a waiting game to avoid last-minute crossovers by candidates as well as to gain edge over rivals who name their candidates earlier.
"A screening committee formed at the district level has sent names of short-listed candidates for councilors to Lucknow. The top brass will decide the final list and allot symbols to candidates," SP city president J P Kashyap told TOI.
Nomination filing process has been slow with political parties holding their cards close to their chests. On Thursday, only seven nomination forms were received from councilor candidates ward members across all nine municipal bodies. Only a single form was submitted for the post of Dasna chairperson.
Aspirants have been flocking to the BJP office in anticipation of tickets. Senior BJP functionaries were busy conducting last-minute meetings over ticket distribution on Thursday.
Ghaziabad unit of the Congress has short-listed names of three candidates each for each civic body chief.
"This list has been sent to Lucknow and will have the final approval of state president Raj Babbar. The lists are expected to be finalized within the next couple of days," said Congress city president Harendra Kasana.
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