Noida: Urban votes helped Mahesh Sharma post the highest winning margin in UP

The urban voters in Noida and Dadri assembly segments of Gautam Budh Nagar parliamentary constituency played a key role in the hat-trick victory of Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Dr Mahesh Sharma, shows the voting data.

Sharma secured 857,829 votes, winning the seat by a margin of 559,472 votes and polling numbers show that he got more than 70% votes in Noida segment and more than 60% votes in Dadri segment.

Sharma’s is the highest winning margin in the state of Uttar Pradesh, while the second highest margin in the state, of 390,030 votes, was secured by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who contested from Rae Bareli.

Sharma had won the seat in 2014 by a margin of 258,871 votes, riding on the first Modi wave. In 2019, he won by a 336,922 votes, and in 2024, he bettered his position by winning by a margin of 559,472 votes.

However, Sharma failed to make any notable gains in vote share in Khurja segment, which is the home town of Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Rajendra Solanki, a Rajput. Even so, Sharma secured the highest number of votes in the segment, but got 22,918 votes less than 138,048 votes secured in 2019 general elections.

“This massive victory of BJP in Gautam Budh Nagar seat is because of the middle-class voters in urban areas of Noida and Greater Noida. The urban voters always vote on national issues, ignoring the small local issues, and that has led to the BJP breaking its 2019 record by getting the maximum votes despite performing badly in other parts of the state. Also, Sharma’s clean image played a key role in winning this seat by a huge margin. In rural areas like Khurja, caste factors played a role. The whole ”Rajput against the BJP” issue worked to some extent,” said Vivek Mishra, assistant professor, political science, Gautam Buddha University.

The high-rise dwellers in Noida and Greater Noida voted for BJP in large numbers and rivals such as the SP-Congress and BSP candidates failed to win over the urban voters.Together, the two candidates managed to get only 30% votes in Noida.

“There are long-standing basic civic amenities issues in Noida and Greater Noida urban areas. Another big issue is that of homebuyers, who are waiting for the registry of their apartments. But still, urban voters ignored these issues and voted for the BJP on national issues. Also, Samajwadi Party or Bahujan Samaj Party announced their candidates at the last minute and people remained unaware about them and their agendas,” said Rajiva Singh, president of Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations.

In Noida, Sharma got 277,999 votes, Samajwadi Party’s Dr Mahendra Nagar got 63,506 votes and Bahujan Samaj Party’s Rajendra Solanki got 17,676 votes.

In Dadri segment,Sharma got 251,359 votes, Nagar got 88,088 and Solanki got 38,390 votes.

In Jewar, Sharma got 104,759 votes against BSP’s Solanki who stood second with 62,662 votes and Nagar got 31,228 votes.

In Sikandrabad, Sharma continued to get the highest number of vote at 105,966, Nagar got 77,795 votes and Solanki got 55,702 votes.

In Khurja, Sharma got 115,330 votes, Solanki got 76,532 votes and Nagar got 37,080 votes.

BJP also performed better in 2024 because the Samajwadi Party and Congress alliance kept changing their candidate till the last minute, and also the Bahujan Samaj Party announced its candidate very late, said political analysts.

Dr Mahesh Sharma, however, credited his victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, and the voters.

“We have won this seat and broken our own record only because the people admire the Prime Minister and home minister’s leadership. They have transformed the country and put it on the path of unprecedented development. We are thankful to our people who supported us and voted for us. We are committed to fulfilling their aspirations, and work on all issues as promised during the election,” he said