Ghaziabad: BJP is gearing up for the civic body bypolls in two wards — 19 and 21 — on Dec 17 to increase its tally in the 100-member house. Elections are being held as the seats fell vacant following the deaths of the sitting councillors. The two wards have around 26,317 voters.
An official from the GMC said, "Two GMC councillors, Anand Gautam of ward number 21, who was elected as an independent, and BJP's Urmila Chauhan from ward number 19, passed away, as a result of which the seats fell vacant. A municipal bypoll has been announced to fill the seats."
A total of nine candidates are currently in the fray for the bypolls from the two wards, including five candidates from ward 19 and four from ward 21. These include independent candidates.
"The principal political parties—BJP, Congress, and SP—candidates have filed nominations. The election will be held on December 17, and results will be declared on December 19," the official added.
The BJP is all geared up to capture seats and gain an edge in the 100-member house.
"We are already in a comfortable position in the 100-member house with 77 councillors, but even then, we want to increase the party's tally. Preparations are being made for the election," said Mayor Sunita Dayal.
In May last year, when municipal elections were held in the state and GMC, a total of 66 BJP candidates were elected as councillors in the 100-member house. Since then, a total of 12 councillors from other parties and independents have joined BJP – boosting its tally in the house to 78. However, with the death of councillor Urmila Chauhan, BJP's numbers dropped to 77.
Now, the party is aiming to capture the two wards in the upcoming bypoll.
In GMC's 12-member executive committee, which is the highest decision-making body in GMC, BJP already has nine members.