The BJP's Sanjeev Sharma defeated his nearest rival Singh Raj Jatav of the Samajwadi Party to win the Ghaziabad Assembly bypoll, the results of which were declared on Saturday. Sharma polled 96,946 votes to trounce Jatav by 69,351 votes – a win margin of 69,676 votes. The others in the fray included BSP candidate Parmanand Garg. The bypoll was necessitated after BJP MLA Atul Garg was elected to the Lok Sabha earlier this year. Following his win, Sharma said, “I would like to express my gratitude towards my workers and all the residents of my area. I also thank top leaders of my party that they gave me a chance to contest.” Asked about his priorities, Sharma said he would focus on education and health. “I have to build a corridor in Dudheshwar Nath Temple (in Ghaziabad), bring the AIIMS satellite (centre) to Ghaziabad, renovate Mahamaya stadium and provide basic facilities to several backward colonies of Ghaziabad.” “I will try to finish five years of work in two years,” he added. The BJP won six of the nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where bypolls were held on November 20. They were Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair (SC), Phulpur, Katehari and Majhawan Assembly constituencies. Its ally RLD bagged Meerapur, the lone seat it contested. The SP emerged victorious on the remaining two seats — Karhal and Sishamau. Of the nine seats, Ghaziabad had registered the lowest voter turnout, at 33.3%. The election was conducted across 119 polling centres and 506 booths in Ghaziabad.
