Bijnor: Putting to rest who would be given the party ticket from Bijnor Lok Sabha seat, Congress fielded Indira Bhati, daughter of former deputy chief minister Babu Narayan Singh and sister of former MP Sanjay Chauhan, from the constituency. Bhati is a Gujjar and this Lok Sabha constituency comprises 1.2 lakh Gujjars in the district.For the past few days, speculation was rife that the Congress ticket for Bijnor parliamentary seat would be given to a prominent Muslim as it has more than five lakh voters from the community here. But party leadership decided otherwise and nominated Bhati. .The 63-year-old Bhati’s father was former deputy chief minister of UP and a veteran Congress leader. He was a confidant of former PM Indira Gandhi. He named her daughter after her. Bhati has been a staunch Congress party worker for a long time. She had fought the mayoral poll from Meerut in 2006 but could not win.Now, Congress has reposed its faith on Bhati. Giving details, district president of Congress Doongar Singh said, “Our party has fielded Indira Bhati from Bijnor seat. We have thrown our full weight behind her. If God willing, we will win this seat.”Muslims, Jats, Dalits and Gujjars have a strong presence in Bijnor parliamentary seat. As per an estimated data, this seat comprises over 16.51 lakh voters including over five lakh Muslim voters, over 2.10 lakh Jats,1.20 lakh Gujjars and around 2.5 Dalits and other castes.So far neither BJP nor SP-BSP alliance has opened its cards. BJP is keeping its eye on alliance candidate before declaring its candidate. In Bijnor, BSP has appointed former MLA Mohammad Iqbal as in charge of the constituency but he has not been officially declared as alliance candidate.Besides, BJP ticket seekers are camping in Delhi. They met party chief Amit Shah. According to party sources, BJP may declare its candidate on Sunday night or Monday morning as the nomination process will start from March 18.According to chief development officer Praveen Mishra, all preparations for filing of nomination have been made. Nomination will be will have to file their papers at the collectorate. Barricades have been set up at the collectorate and its surrounding area.

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