Ghaziabad Lok Sabha constituency came into existence in 2008 as a part of the implementation of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies. It is a highly populous seat with 27 lakh voters. Presently, Ghaziabad Lok Sabha constituency comprises five Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) segments. Loni, Muradnagar, Sahibabad & Ghaziabad fall under Ghaziabad district, whereas Dholana falls under Hapur district. The district is a BJP stronghold with MoS for Civil Aviation, Gen VK Singh as the sitting MP since 2014, and all five assembly segments are represented by BJP MLAs. Gen VK Singh is a popular leader here having raised his vote share from 50% in 2014 to 62% in 2019. Interestingly, the BJP dropped Gen VK Singh and has fielded sitting MLA Atul Garg as its Ghaziabad candidate for the upcoming polls. Adityanath in his speech also lauded the efforts of Singh and said he brought rapid development in Ghaziabad. Facing off Atul Garg will be the Congress’ Dolly Sharma.<br><br>The BJP’s primary poll planks in Ghaziabad are Uttar Pradesh’s improved law and order situation and a resurgence of Sanatan aided by Hindutva. Yogi Adityanath, while on a recent tour of the constituency, reminded voters about the issues of safety and security of women, and of traders and businessmen during the previous regimes and also how his government had helped preserve the ‘sanatan dharma’. Yogi also hailed his government’s decision to the Kant report to ease real estate woes. In December 2023, the UP cabinet had approved implementation of the recommendations of the Amitabh Kant committee report on real estate projects that included giving immediate possession and registry of the properties to buyers. Seamless Kanwar Yatras across UP, building of Jewar international airport, removal of Article 370, construction of Ram Mandir and other important achievements of the BJP were also pitched by the UP chief minister.<br><br>There are many other small yet important players with respect to the Ghaziabad economy and they include picture tubes, vegetable oil, tapestry, bicycles, electroplating, glassware, paint and varnish products amongst many. There are various manufacturing companies employing 53 percent of the non-agricultural laborers in Ghaziabad. The manufacturing industry is alone to be credited for an income, which is eight times the income of other industries taken together. The manufacturing industry in Ghaziabad includes apparel, transportation equipment, dairy products, pottery, tobacco production, industrial machinery, ceramics and all sorts of electrical and electronic goods. With more than 500 organizations involved in the Steel Industry that employs more than 25,000 people in the city, Ghaziabad is also called as the Steel Power of the state of UP.
Location of Ghaziabad Lok Sabha constituency on the map of India displaying the 543 different Parliamentary constituencies (Image: News18)