Ghaziabad, March 18 (IANS) AAP candidate Shazia Ilmi says her party will do everything it can to end the "step-motherly" treatment of Ghaziabad, a sprawling Uttar Pradesh district bordering Delhi.
"Development (of Ghaziabad) will be our only election plank," Ilmi told IANS soon after the Aam Aadmi Party declared the former journalist as its candidate in Ghaziabad.
"No caste, no creed and no other lucrative slogans," she said. "Our mantra will be development."
Ghaziabad is widely seen as the working hub of the AAP. Party leader Arvind Kejriwal lived in Ghaziabad when he became Delhi's chief minister and ruled the capital for 49 days before quitting Feb 14 over the Jan Lokpal bill.
The AAP headquarters is located here, and there is hardly anyone in Ghaziabad who is not familiar with names of AAP leaders such as Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Kumar Vishwas and Sanjay Singh.
Ilmi, who narrowly lost the Delhi assembly election to the Bharatiya Janata Party, is also a familiar face here thanks in part to her journalistic past.
Sisodia said it was the AAP government in Delhi which approved the extension of Delhi Metro from Dilshad Garden in east Delhi to the New Bus Stand in Ghaziabad.
"We are shocked to see the Samajwadi Party and the BJP president (Rajnath Singh) putting up banners claiming credit for this work," he said. A master in mass communication, Ilmi was a journalist with Zee News and Star News when she decided to plunge into politics. She became associated with Kejriwal and later joined the AAP.
She had wanted to contest the Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli or Kanpur or even from Mumbai. But the AAP fielded her in Ghaziabad.
Is she not an outsider to Ghaziabad?
No, she says, adding there would be no difficulty in commuting between Ghaziabad and Delhi.
BJP president Ranjnath Singh was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ghaziabad in 2009. But he has decided to contest this time from Lucknow and has been accused by locals of not doing enough for this constituency which has become an important satellite city of Delhi.
Google Saff in Bengaluru tests positive for COVID-19
Google ने शुक्रवार को पुष्टि की कि उनके ब
Stop illegal buffalo fights, Gogoi urged
Guwahati, Jan 9 (IANS) A rights group Friday urged Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to stop ill
923 Candidates File Nominations for Delhi Polls
New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS) A total of 923 candidates filed nomination papers for the Delhi assembl
Only two days are left for the Maharashtra elections. Voting is to be held in the state on Novemb
Bollywood actor Sonu Sood continues to help people during the Corona epidemic. In the last two ye
The fire in a six-story building in Kuwait spread so fast that people did not even get a chance t
Team India's winning streak continues in the T20 World Cup. The Indian team, which won a thrillin
Indian Space Research Organization Chairman S Somanath attended the 18th convocation of SRM Insti
Vladimir Putin's big announcement amid defeat from Ukraine imposed military rule in four provinces
President Vladimir Putin has made a big announcement amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukra
Peace Party of India Members join AAP in Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) At least 300 members of the Peace Party of India's Delhi unit Friday jo
