Ahead of counting, all candidates confident of winning GB Nagar seat

With just a few hours left for the counting of votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls on Tuesday, candidates of main political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, and the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance exuded confidence on Monday of winning the Gautam Budh Nagar parliamentary seat.

They said their agents for the counting day have been selected and they have been directed to be present at Phool Mandi in Noida’s Phase 2, well before the starting of counting at 8am on Tuesday.

The SP-Congress alliance candidate Dr Mahendra Nagar, 66, BJP’s sitting MP Dr Mahesh Sharma, 64, and BSP’s Rajendra Solanki, 70, claimed victory in this constituency that has 2,675,148 registered voters in the five assembly segments of Noida, Dadri, Jewar, Bulandshahr’s Sikandrabad and Khurja.

There are 21 tables for counting votes of each assembly segment of Noida and Dadri, and 14 tables each for Jewar, Sikandrabad and Khurja, said officials.

The Gautam Budh Nagar Lok Sabha seat consists of 2,675,148 registered voters — 782,872 in Noida that is completely urban in nature with housing complexes, 729,481 in Dadri that also has half urban voters, 369,824 in Jewar, 399,091 in Sikandrabad and 393,880 in Khurja, according to district election office.

BSP candidate Solanki, a Rajput, feels that he can defeat two-time BJP MP Dr Mahesh Sharma on the back of Rajputs “anger” towards the BJP.

“I am confident of winning the GB Nagar seat because people are really angry with the sitting MP who has not devoted adequate time to the people. I am very polite, down to earth and have assured voters that I will raise their grievances if elected. I’m confident that I won their hearts. I feel that people have supported me selflessly and they will make me win this seat,” said Solanki.

Aiming for a hat-trick, sitting MP Dr Mahesh Sharma said he feels that people will continue to support him.

“We have offered prayers at the temple today to seek blessings. We are confident that people are with us because of the work of our party. We are confident of winning this seat third time with a huge margin. Last year, we won this seat by 330,000 votes and we are confident that the winning margin will increase this time,” said Sharma.

All three candidates will reach at counting centre at 8am, when the counting will begin.

Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance feel that anger of farmers, Rajputs and homebuyers, who have been waiting for years to get their flats delivered, will benefit their candidate Dr Mahendra Nagar.

“We have got the votes in all areas, including urban sectors and villages. We hope that we will get a huge number of votes in Dadri, Noida and Sikandrabad, to win this seat with a good margin. We feel that BJP will perform miserably, proving all exit polls wrong because the party has not worked at all,” said Nagar.

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