Independent candidate beats BJP nominee in Adityanath’s backyard, attributes victory to ‘our neighbour’ in Gorakhpur

lucknow

Updated: Dec 02, 2017 13:14 IST

An independent candidate who defeated the ruling BJP nominee in Gorakhpur’s ward number 68 has attributed the victory in the urban body elections to her “neighbour”, chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Nadira Khatoon defeated Maya Tripathi by 483 votes in the ward where the famous Gorakhnath Temple is located in Purana Gorakhpur.

“I have won because of Baba (Yogi Adityanath ). He is our neighbour,” Khatoon said after receiving the victory certificate on Friday. She, however, did not elaborate.

Khatoon said she aimed to achieve 100% literacy in her ward.

Adityanath, the chief priest of the temple, had cast his vote on November 22.

Adityanath was also a member of Parliament from Gorakhpur for five consecutive terms since 1998 till he became the chief minister after the BJP’s stunning victory in the assembly polls earlier this year.

Khatoon’s son, Shamim Ansari, had contested the 2012 urban body polls from the same ward and lost narrowly.

“People rejected the BJP here because it failed to carry out development. Choked drains, heaps of garbage, potholed roads and traffic jams remain unaddressed,” he said after his mother’s victory.

The Muslim-dominated ward with a large population of weavers was represented by non-BJP corporators in 1995 and 2000.

The BJP wrested the seat in 2006 and retained it in 2012. The seat was reserved for woman this time.

The BJP also lost in two other Muslim weaver-dominated wards near the Gorakhnath temple.

In Chaksa Hussain, the BJP’s lone Muslim candidate Shamim Ahmed was defeated by the Samajwadi Party’s Ehtesham. In Rasoolpur , the SP’s Ayesha Khatoon defeated independent candidate Sayera Khatoon. BJP’s Sunita Devi came third.

Barring a few blemishes, the BJP won 27 wards in Gorakhpur while the Samajwadi Party won 18, the Bahujan Samaj Party two, Congress two, and independents 18.

Across the state too, the ruling BJP swept the polls, capturing 14 out of 16 mayoral seats besides most of the seats in the nagar nigams, nagar palika parishads and nagar panchayats.