Shock defeat likely for BJP in Bijnor panchayat polls

BIJNOR: BJP-backed candidates are likely to suffer a shock defeat in their traditional stronghold of Bijnor as counting for 57 district panchayat (DP) seats began on Sunday.
At the time of going to press, BJP-supported contestants were leading in only four of the 57 DP wards. SP-supported candidates were leading in 25 seats, while BSP proxies led in 10.The remaining 18 seats are expected to go to candidates who are not supported by any party. Counting of votes is likely to continue late into the night.
Bijnor is a restive stronghold of BJP and witnessed communal strife in the past. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP candidate Bhartendra Singh won with a massive 45.92% vote share over his closest rival, Shahnawaz Rana of SP. A BJP source said, “We have not performed to our expectations in the district.”
Most seats in the district saw a straight fight between SP and BSP. While SP led in most seats, some senior SP-backed candidates had to struggle to win their electoral battles and only made it through by slim margins.
The high-stakes battles were between the spouses of two senior SP leaders. Mohammedpur Deomal ward saw a close contest between Udayan Veera, husband of sitting Bijnor MLA Ruchi Veera, and Ikhtab Rana, wife of former Bijnor MLA Shahnawaz Rana. Counting of ballots started at 8am and the leads see-sawed through the day. It was only in the evening that Veera built a lead over his opponent and eventually won by 518 votes.
Neelam Paras, wife of SP’s Nagina MLA Manoj Paras, was trailing from the Kotwali seat. Uma Rani, sister-in-law of recently appointed state minister Moolchand Chauhan, was trailing by around 500 votes in Dhampur. Ashok Kumar, who is supported by BJP’s Nagina MP Yashwant Singh, was in the eight place in the contest for the Nagina seat.