Ghaziabad witnesses record voter turnout

Ghaziabad has witnessed a peaceful poll with a record 60.2 per cent voter turnout reported till 7.15 pm on Thursday. Around 7 am, it was a slow start as few people were seen in front of their respective booths. Later in the afternoon a large number of people cast their votes with a hope for a stable government.

Ghaziabad, which has a mix of rural and urban voters, is constitute of five assembly seats (Loni, Muradnagar, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad and Dhaulana) has a total of 22.64 lakh voters including 12.82 lakhs of male and 9.82 lakh female. In 2009 Lok Sabha election, total voters were 18,31,688 including 7,93,799 female and 10,37,889 male voters and ended with only 45.3 per cent polling. It is now represented by BJP president Rajnath Singh, who this time was shifted to a safe seat in Lucknow.

Long queues were seen at several booths at Sahibabad, Dasna, Dhaulana, Kaushambi, Vasundhara, Indirapuram, Pasaunda etc. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate V K Singh was seen at Indirapuram around 9.30 am to witness poll arrangements.

Speaking to the Millennium Post, he said, ‘I had served the nation and now it’s time to save my motherland from the corruption. I am sure people vote for us for a stable government.’

Without naming Shazia Ilmi, AAP candidate from Ghaziabad, he said, ‘She is immature and anti national.’ Earlier, Shazia gave a statement that BJP is setting a dangerous trend by giving tickets to defence officials.

Shazia, refused to comment on Singh’s remark. She said, ‘I am hopeful that people will support us, similarly the way they had shown their support during the Assembly poll.’

Meanwhile, BSP candidate Mukul Upadhyay alleged that few police officers are working on behalf of the Samajwadi Party. He said, ‘People have decided to support BSP in Ghaziabad.’

District Magistrate SVS Ranga Rao expressed his happiness over the poll arrangements and the thanked poll officials and the paramilitary forces for working hard to ensure peaceful election. At Children’s Academy in Vijanagar a first time voter, Kishore Rathi, was seen very excited to cast his vote. ‘This if for the first time I casted my vote and I am very excited. I came here with my father and sister,’ he said.

Going with the polling trend there are speculations that it will be anyone from either the BJP or BSP that might secure the seat.  Most voters think that if Singh wins then he will have solid central support in implementing developmental activities in Ghaziabad, with Modi as PM. They feel that a BJP government in the centre and a MP in Ghaziabad from the same party will actually work for the people.