Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Vimla Batham was elected from Noida in the September 13 Assembly by-poll, the results of which were announced here on Tuesday. She polled more than double her nearest rival.
The 62-year-old entrepreneur and long-time BJP women’s wing member defeated Samajwadi Party’s Kajal Sharma by a margin of 58,952 votes, which was 60 per cent of the total 1,66,576 votes. Ms. Batham got 1,00,433 votes, while Ms. Sharma received 41,481.
In the top four was the ‘none of the above’ (NOTA) option. While the Congress’s Rajendra Awana came third with 17,212 votes, a total of 1,846 people chose NOTA, making it the fourth most popular option.
Meanwhile, Ms. Batham’s victory was one of three seats won by the saffron party in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly by-election. The grandmother of four celebrated her win with neighbours and friends at her Sector 33 residence, after visiting a nearby temple with her family.
“The people of Noida chose an educated candidate with a clean image and the one who will deliver on the development promises,” said Ms. Batham, referring to the pending criminal charges against other candidates and her own double M.A. qualification.
Ms. Batham said she would work towards development for all communities as well as urban and rural residents, taking cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘ sabka saath, sabka vikas ’ slogan. She said the BJP’s strong cadre in Gautam Budh Nagar district had helped her win.
Originally from Shahjahanpur in Western U.P., Ms. Batham moved to Noida in 1992. She runs a printing press and a corrugated box manufacturing business. Ms. Batham succeeded former BJP MLA Mahesh Sharma, who was elected the Gautam Budh Nagar MP in the parliamentary elections in May.
