Lok Sabha elections 2024: ‘Denying Thakurs a ticket is going to benefit us’

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav have begun campaigning for Dolly Sharma the grand old partyrsquos Ghaziabad candidate According to party workers their joint presence could boost Sharmarsquos visibility potentially increasing her chances of defeating the BJP which is seeing internal squabbles over candidature midday spoke with Sharma 39 on WednesdayExcerptsDo you think Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadavrsquos joint campaign will help you get votesYes because the BJP makes tall claims but is doing nothing Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav talk about matters on the ground such as the basic needs of peoplemdasheducation jobs womenrsquos rights and empowerment light water and farmersrsquo issues People are happy to see them in GhaziabadDolly Sharma Congressrsquos Ghaziabad candidateWhy did the two leaders choose Ghaziabad as the place to start the Uttar Pradesh campaignIt is the biggest constituency in the state with around 30 lakh voters They wanted to start campaigning and decided to begin hereWhy were you given the ticket to contest this particular seatI have been working on the ground for the Congress for more than six years and I know most of the problems faced by citizens People here lack basic amenities such as hospitals colleges and water I will try to bring change The Samajwadi Party didnrsquot oppose my candidature as they believed that I was the right person for the job Akhilesh Yadav visiting my constituency proves that the party is supporting the alliance and meWhat is the first thing you would change if you came to powerThe BJP makes claims about the Har Ghar Jal Yojana but when we go around the Ghaziabad constituency people are crying for water They have to purchase water for their daily needs The first thing I will do is to set up a proper water facilityDo you think women are safe in GhaziabadWomen are not at all safe in Uttar Pradesh The crime rate proves this In Ghaziabad womenrsquos mobile phones are snatched on the streets and chainsnatching takes place every other dayGhaziabad has seen good development over the past few years with highrise towers popping up How will you ensure this continuesDo highrise buildings indicate development The builder mafia is acquiring open land illegally and developing such structures Development is when you have schools colleges hospitals and playgrounds in the city But they are disappearing here I aim to provide these facilities to citizensWere you planning to contest the Lok Sabha electionThere were no plans to do so from my side I was working hard for the people and the party The INDIA bloc believed in me and trusted me to be its candidate I am thankful for receiving the opportunity to represent the people of Ghaziabad I will try my best and see that most of my time and knowledge is used to serve themWhat is the response you have been seeing so farThe general public has responded well to our road shows Muslims Dalits Thakurs and a few other communities are with us Dalits and Muslims were already against the BJP government but now Thakurs are also opposed to it which will impact its vote shareBJP had denied a ticket to the sitting Ghaziabad MP General Vijay Kumar Singh and picked MLA Atul Garg instead Your commentsDenying a ticket to General Vijay Kumar Singh was a mistake We have respect for him as he is a veteran Giving a ticket to an MLA who doesnrsquot know his job is just an outofthebox decisionWhy do you think Garg is not a good candidateHe was the health minister of Uttar Pradesh and people have seen the work he did during the lockdown period He had switched off his mobile phone when people needed the most help He was sitting behind locked doors at home to avoid responding to people The citizens know his work The dead body eaten by dogs is the biggest example of the work done by the health ministerDo you think the BJPrsquos internal split over seat sharing will benefit youOf course V K Singh is a ThakurRajput But no leaders from this community have been given tickets in western Uttar Pradesh The community will not support the BJP at all and this will definitely benefit usINDIA bloc leaders speakAddressing the media in Ghaziabad Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday ldquoThe present election is an election for ideology On the one hand the BJP and RSS are trying to destroy the constitution and the democratic system and on the other INDIA and the Congress party are trying to defend and protect the constitution and democracy The biggest issues are inflation and unemployment but the BJP is engaged in creating distractions Neither the prime minister nor the BJP here talks about issuesrdquo Akhilesh Yadav said INDIA would wipe out the BJP from Ghaziabad to Ghazipur ldquoFarmers are upset as all the promises of the BJP turned out to be fake They are not only taking in the corrupt but also keeping the money earned by themrdquo Yadav saidFacts and figuresSharma will be contesting for the Lok Sabha election from Ghaziabad for the second time In the 2019 election she secured around 111944 votes losing to General Vijay Kumar Singh of the BJP who secured 9 44593 votes SPrsquos Suresh Bansal bagged 443003 In the 2014 general election Singh defeated Congress candidate Raj Babbar by 567260 votes3000000Approximate number of voters in Ghaziabad seat