In UP’s Sahibabad, long-time RSS-BJP man has largest victory margin in state

Sharma, representing the constituency for the second time, has been associated with the RSS, was a member of its student wing, and later became an office-bearer of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha based in Ghaziabad. A resident of Sahibabad and a popular face among locals, he won the elections from the area in 2008, a year before the boundary of Baghpat and Ghaziabad was redrawn, and the Sahibabad constituency came into existence.

He fought the assembly elections in 2012 but lost to BSP candidate Amarpal Sharma. Since then, the constituency has seen a bipolar contest. In the previous elections, Sunil bested Amarpal, who fought on an INC ticket, with more than 1.5 lakh votes.

Late Congress spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi’s wife also contested from the same constituency this time to garner around 10,000 votes.

Since the onset of the pandemic and the layoffs that followed, the Sahibabad industrial area, a crucial hub for large-scale employment teeming with many factories and manufacturing units, has been plagued by issues of unemployment. During the first wave, several employees were laid off by Atlas Cycles, making it increasingly difficult for people to find jobs in the region, locals say. The region also has several housing societies where homebuyers have aired issues concerning facilities. However, Sunil made the supply of uninterrupted Ganga water a major poll promise, garnering massive support.

Another big draw was the Chief Minister. “Everyone was talking about silent voters. They have only voted for the BJP. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has emerged as a leader of the masses. It is bound to positively impact the candidate given how he already has a local base. In this case, it helped us achieve record margins,” said Pradeep Chaudhary, media in-charge, BJP Ghaziabad Mahanagar.

With a heavy mandate in hand, the leader claims he will soon get on to work for the next five years. “We have won under the leadership of Modi and Yogi. I have overseen several development works which were carried out in the last five years and many projects are in progress. Uninterrupted Ganga water in the Khora area will be made available. Some areas require a government hospital. Many such issues will be prioritised in the coming months,” Sunil said following the victory.