Cong candidate Dolly Sharma files nomination in Gzb
Starting her journey with “jai siya Ram” slogans, and garlanding a statue of Dalit leader Dr BR Ambedkar on her way, Congress candidate Dolly Sharma on Monday headed to file her nomination papers for Lok Sabha polls from Ghaziabad constituency.
She was flanked by leaders of different opposition parties who are part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc.the last date to file nominations is April 4.
Sharma, an Mbawill be contesting her second election. In her first attempt in 2019, she had lost to Bharatiya Janata Partys gen VK Singh (retired).
Hundreds of leaders and party workers from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Aam Aadmi Party, among others, gathered at Navyug Market and performed a “havan (puja)” for an auspicious beginning.
At Ambedkar Park in Navyug Market, Sharma garlanded the statue of Dr Ambedkar.
“All parties, part of the INDIA bloc, are standing shoulder to shoulder to protect the Constitution. I want to say that people here will vote for issues of Ghaziabad. The person who took away the breath of people during Covid pandemic needs to answer now. Atul Garg (sitting MLA) was the health minister in UP during the Covid pandemic and he shut his doors and turned off his phone than help the affected people,” Sharma said.
The BJP has picked MLA Garg, who resides in Kavi Nagar, as its candidate for Lok Sabha elections. He served as health minister from 2017 to 2022.
Sharma said the health infrastructure in the city is depleted while instances of street crimes against women is rampant.
“People in Khoda are suffering due to lack of tap water supply and sewage infrastructure while many roads are still in a bad condition. The works are expedited only when elections near. The youth need employment opportunities and even better government school education. The city also lacks proper Metro train connectivity in different areas,” she said.
Responding to Sharma’s allegations, Garg said, “We don’t have much to convince voters as about 80% have decided to vote for Modi ji. I cannot say which doors I closed to the public during Covid and my call records will indicate the number of people I spoke to in the times of their need. Sharma should abstain from making such baseless remarks.”
The district goes to polls on April 26.