116 file papers on fourth day, but three arrivals steal show
The filing of nominations for the December 7 assembly polls turned into a carnival of sorts on Thursday, when 116 candidates submitted papers from 86 constituencies. So far, 266 candidates have filed nominations.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Civil Lines constituency, social justice & empowerment minister Arun Chaturvedi, kicked off the proceedings on the fourth day by submitting his papers at the district collector’s office around noon. He was flanked by his wife, parliamentarians, legislators and BJP workers, and was later greeted by Union minister of state Mahesh Sharma. A total of 12 BJP candidates, including Chaturvedi, filed their papers on Thursday.
But it was Navin Pilania’s nomination that kicked off proceedings of a different kind — of grand arrivals. Pilania, who Tuesday quit the National People’s Party (NPP) and joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to contest from the Amber constituency, rode an elephant to the collector’s office. Pilania praised his daughter Aastha, who accompanied him, for being a motivation in his life.
“My daughter and youngsters like her are the future of the country. Aastha is very lucky for me and she has always motivated me to serve the people, especially the women,” the BSP leader said.
Aam Admi Party (AAP)’s Jugal Kishore Sharma, who filed
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his nomination from Jhotwara assembly seat, reached the dis- trict collector’s office on a camel. Sharma was accompanied by four people, said to be his supporters, who were carrying brooms (the party’s election symbol). They made use of it sweeping the area outside the collector’s office while waiting for nearly two hours after it became known that Sharma had forgotten some documents. Six more candidates of the AAP submitted their nominations on the day.
Shankar Lal Kumawat of Jan Kranti Dal, who will contest from Vidhyadhar Nagar, rode a horse.
A candidate for Jago Party, Trilok Tiwari filed his nomination from the Malviya Nagar constituency. Tiwari came barefooted and was seen wearing a ‘firoza’ bracelet, made popular by Bollywood star Salman Khan. On being barefoot, Tiwari said that he has given up on shoes for the past three months and would wear them “only after winning the election”.
Among others to file their nominations on the day included seven candidates of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and three of the Janata Dal (United) .
The process of filing nominations will go on until November 19 whereas the election commission will scrutinise the eligibility of the submissions the day after. Candidates will have until November 22 to withdraw their nominations. Results after the voting on December 7 for the 200member assembly will be declared on December 11.