Ghaziabad by-poll: Nomination process starts today, parties yet to pick candidates

The nomination process for the run Ghaziabad assembly bypoll, scheduled to be held on November 13, will start on Friday with the issuance of notification, said district excise officers. Major political parties, however, are still brainstorming to pick candidates.

The model code of conduct is already in place since October 15 when the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for by-elections to 48 assembly constituencies and two parliamentary constituencies in 15 states, including Ghaziabad assembly constituency.

In Ghaziabad, the seat fell vacant after incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Atul Garg won the recent Lok Sabha elections and became a parliamentarian.

The office-bearers of various parties said they are shortlisting names and the caste equation will play a part in deciding the final pick.

Sources in the BJP said four names are in consideration, including that of a woman. They added that four probables are from Vaish, Thakur, Punjabi and Brahmin communities.

The Ghaziabad assembly seat was won by (late) Suresh Bansal in 2012 who contested on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket after defeating his nearest rival Atul Garg, who contested on a BJP ticket.

In 2017, Garg defeated Bansal and retained his seat in 2022 as well.

“The Ghaziabad seat has primarily been won by a member of the Vaish community as the assembly segment has several major markets and trading businesses which are owned and operated by members of the Vaish community. The Brahmin community also has a large number of voters. There is a lot of brainstorming happening,” the source said.

Sanjeev Sharma, the city president of the BJP, did not respond to calls seeking a response.

“There are several names in contention. A final decision will be taken by the party leadership in Lucknow,” said Pradeep Chaudhary, media coordinator, BJP city unit.

The Bahujan Samaj Party had earlier floated the name of Ravi Gautam, but it got rejected later for various different reasons, which party insiders were not ready to reveal.

“After that, the party announced the name of PN Garg, a Vaish, as the assembly incharge. Generally, it happens that the incharge is given a ticket. However, we are waiting for an announcement from the party, which is likely soon,” said Dayaram Sain, district president, Bahujan Samaj Party.

Sources in the Congress said several names are in consideration, including that of Sushant Goyal, who is the son of former Congress MP late Surendra Prakash Goyal.

“With only a few days left for filing of nominations, the party will give voters a candidate who is known in local circles. So, the campaigning will not be difficult. We are expecting the announcement by end of the week,” said Vinit Tyagi, district president, Congress.

According to the schedule issued by the ECI, October 25 will be the last date for filing nominations.

The scrutiny of nominations will take place on October 28 while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is October 30.

The polling will take place on November 13 and the counting on November 23, said the ECI.