LUCKNOW: A stronghold of saffron camp, Samajwadi Party has never won Ghaziabad constituency in the past.
Going all out to set a record this time, SP has fielded a Jatav from the general seat, realising the importance of SC voters in the predominantly urban seat of UP-NCR.
BJP has fielded a chartered accountant, Sanjeev Sharma (49), from the seat that was held by former minister and two-time MLA from Ghaziabad, Atul Garg, who was elected as MP earlier this year.
Serving as Mahanagar BJP president since 2019, Sharma has been rewarded for his contribution during elections held thereafter. BJP managed to maintain its lead during the Lok Sabha, assembly and local body elections in Ghaziabad city.
However, the question this time is whether the class divide between the electors would play out during byelections. After the Samajwadi Party emerged as a strong force during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in UP, party workers are confident that the families and voters in congested localities, urban slums and low-income housing colonies would vote differently this time.
“BJP would have support of only upper caste voters who are staying in high-rise buildings and apartments,” says SP worker Nishant Kaushal from Ghantaghar, upbeat after attending the recent meeting of party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Besides BJP, BSP has been securing a significant number of votes in the past, the reason which prompted Akhilesh Yadav to field Singh Raj Jatav (50). The decision of BSP to field Parmanand Garg as its candidate could also shake up the dynamics as some Vaishya and Baniya community voters could stand behind him.
It also needs to be seen whether traditional supporters of Congress stand behind SP in the upcoming bypoll or not. Meanwhile, like any other urban pocket, Ghaziabad city continues to face the problem of housing for the poor with the number of urban slums going up with time.
Water and air pollution, unsafe commuting during late evening and night hours, lack of public transport and last mile connectivity continue to be the major concerns for voters.