Vyas, Shivhare file papers from Hamirpur Sadar

Kanpur: On the last day of filing nominations for assembly bypoll, BJP candidate Jagdish Vyas and Congress candidate Keshav Babu Shivhare filed their papers for Hamirpur Sadar seat on Wednesday.
The total number of nominations, including three independents, has now reached six.
Starting from 11 am till 5 pm, the returning officer of the Hamirpur Sadar seat took all the nominations with the entire election staff and others in tow.
The candidates were asked to enter a room other than that of the RO’s where their applications were accepted. As it was the last day of nomination filing, the District Collectorate remained the centre of hectic activities.
Supporters of BJP and Congress party, besides independent candidates crowded around the Collectorate office since Wednesday morning. Shiv Charan Prajapati, who had filed his nomination papers from the Hamirpur Sadar seat on Monday, took a lead as far as campaigning is concerned.
As the BJP and Congress had announced their candidates for the Sadar seat on Tuesday, SP had already made its presence felt particularly in urban areas of the assembly segment, said Pankaj Shukla, a senior journalist. “While electioneering by the candidate of the SP was on soon after the announcement of candidature, the Congress and BJP were yet to come into election mode. Now, with the announcement and subsequent filing of nominations by BJP's Jagdish Vyas, who is a teacher by profession and Congress candidate Keshav Babu Shivhare, who comes from trading community, on the last day, the canvassing will get a major boost in the coming days," he added.
In the 2012 elections, BJP's Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti had won Sadar Assembly seat by a margin of 7,824 votes defeating her arch rival BSP's Fateh Mohammad Khan. BSP has decided not to field its candidates in by-elections on 12 assembly seats across the state, including Hamirpur Sadar assembly seat.
As soon as BJP declared its candidate for Sadar seat on Tuesday, party workers staged protests opposing candidature in Nishad dominated Chanduliteer village, which comes under Hamirpur Sadar assembly segment. BJP workers even burnt party flags.
BJP has given ticket to a fresh face -- Jagdish Vyas, who is a teacher by profession, from Hamirpur Sadar seat. Although Baburam Nishad was reportedly demanding ticket from Hamirpur Sadar seat, the party fielded Vyas.
Protesting Vyas's candidature, party workers staged a demonstration in Chanduliteer village demanding he be replaced by Baburam Nishad. "Those burnt the party flag might be supporters of Baburam Nishad and not workers of BJP," said Manoj Gupta, BJP’s Hamirpur district president.
A party worker said, "Baburam Nishad was preparing for the assembly by-polls here for last couple of months, but party has denied him ticket."