Ward 7 bypoll: Advocate,2 housewives in the fray

Rani,the first-time contestant,is counting on getting sympathy votes. Soon after filing her nomination papers,she declared that she would follow in the footsteps of her mother-in-law. Besides,her father-in-law,Mam Chand Rana,is a former sarpanch of Maloya village,which should also work to her advantage.

The Congress has fielded district president Poonam Sharma,who had unsuccessfully contested the MC election from ward 4. For the past few weeks,she has been working actively in ward 7 which has more than 14,500 voters. An advocate by profession,Sharma says there are several issues that need to be addressed in the ward.

“Dirty water mixed with sewage is being supplied in the area. A community centre needs to be built. There is lack of sanitation in the area as well,” she adds.

Discussing her strengths,Sharma says of the other two candidates,one is dependent on her father-in-law and the other on her husband for support and understanding local issues. They are not independent like her and cannot work on their own.

The Bahujan Samaj Party has pinned its hopes on Seema Yadav,who is contesting from the ward for the second time. Last time,she had polled around 1,500 votes,but lost the election. Yadav,27,says that her early marriage disrupted her education. That’s why she is pursuing her studies through correspondence — she is in BA second year now. On her agenda is working towards providing better water supply,upgrading the school in the area and improving the condition of roads.

Show of strength,subdued affair

BJP candidate Bindu Rani and Congress candidate Poonam Sharma filed their nominations at the office of the State Transport Authority in Sector 18 on Tuesday. While the Congress candidate came amid the beating of drums and slogan-shouting,the BJP candidate did not indulge in any such show. Senior leaders of both the parties were present.