NEW DELHI: One of Uttar Pradesh’s high-profile constituencies, Gautam Buddh Nagar, is likely to witness a bipolar contest as the Samajwadi Party and Congress have fielded a joint candidate, Rahul Awana, to take on the BJP’s sitting MP, Mahesh Sharma. Though the BSP has pitted Rajendra Singh Solanki from the economically vibrant district, the 70-year-old leader has not contested any elections since 1985, when he was a Congress MLA.
Under the seat-sharing agreement, the Gautam Buddha Nagar constituency will be contested on the SP symbol. The SP had earlier announced Mahendra Nagar, but later, it was replaced with Awana. The reason behind the change of candidate was that Nagar had been associated with Congress for a long period and switched to the Samajwadi Party only in 2022. There was resentment among the party workers over his candidature as they were levelling him as an outsider. Several leaders met with the SP Supremo, Akhilesh Yadav, following which Awana was replaced.
“I joined SP in 2010 and have since devoted my life to the party, working for the betterment of society. Being a farmer, I have always supported the cause of the farmers of Noida. Last year in October, I also cycled alongside party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow, during the party’s ‘Desh Bachao, Desh Banao’ bicycle rally,” the 38-year-old farmer said after he was named.
On the other hand, the BJP has given another chance to sitting MP Mahesh Sharma, a doctor by profession and central minister during the first term of Narendra Modi’s government.
Sharma is banking support for urban BJP voters and the Modi factor, while Awana seeks votes from farmers and youth.
Previous polls
In 2019, BJP’s Mahesh Sharma won the seat for the second consecutive time with a margin of 3,36,922 votes. He was polled 8,30,812 votes with a vote share of 59.64%. He defeated BSP candidate Satveer Nagar, who got 4,93,890 votes (35.45%). Congress candidate Arvind Kumar Singh stood third with 42,077 votes (3.02%) in the constituency.
In 2014, BJP’s Mahesh Sharma won the seat. He was polled 5,99,702 votes with a vote share of 50.00%. SP candidate Narendra Bhati got 3,19,490 votes (26.64%) and was the runner-up. Sharma defeated Bhati by a margin of 2,80,212 votes.
Geography
With the major cities of Noida, Greater Noida, and Greater Noida (West) and hundreds of villages, the parliamentary constituency mainly comprises five assembly constituencies: Noida, Dadri, Jewar, Sikandrabad, and Khurja. Gautam Buddha Nagar constituency was carved in 2008 after delimitation, and its first MP was elected in 2009.
There were 23,02,960 voters in the Gautam Buddha Nagar constituency during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Out of this,12,68,324 voters were male and 10,34,503 were female voters. As many as 133 voters belonged to the third gender. In 2014, the total number of voters in the Gautam Buddha Nagar constituency was 19,86,109. Out of this, 11,05,732 voters were male and 8,80,377 were female voters. No voter in this constituency belonged to the ‘others’ category.
BJP picks local face for Ghaziabad
In a first time, the BJP has fielded a local resident for the Lok Sabha election in Ghaziabad ever since the constituency came into existence. In 2008, Ghaziabad was carved out as a Lok Sabha constituency out of Hapur after a delimitation exercise. The party has put incumbent MLA of the city, Atul Garg, into the fray. Garg comes from a business background with several real estate and education businesses tied to his family name. The MLA has also served in the UP cabinet as MoS in several departments. The seat is seen as a BJP stronghold which has given lawmakers like Rajnath Singh who won from there in 2008 and Gen VK Singh who is completing his second term.
Congress Delhi list awaited
Election season has kicked off well in advance in the national capital with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announcing all four of its candidates on February 27 and the Bhartiya Janat Party (BJP) announcing five of its candidates on March 2 and the remaining on March 13. However, the delay by the Congress Party in announcing its 3 candidates in Delhi has led to discontent among the party’s cadre with many wondering if this will negatively impact the party’s poll prospects. Congress leaders say that the elections in Delhi are scheduled to be held on May 25 and the party is releasing its candidates in a planned and timely manner. The last day for filing nominations in Delhi is May 6.Under seat sharing agreement, the AAP will contest from the New Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi, and East Delhi seats, while the Congress will contest from the Chandni Chowk, Northeast, and Northwest Delhi. The BJP has changed all its MP.