BJP sweeps Ghaziabad mayoral by-election

BJP candidate Ashu Verma today trounced his nearest rival SP's Sudhan Rawat to become the Mayor of Ghaziabad.

Verma defeated Rawat by 45,228 votes.

Congress candidate Lalman lassi wala bagged third position after securing 23,317 votes, District Election Officer (DEO) Vimal Kumar Sharma said.

12 candidates were in the fray, including nine Independents.

The post was lying vacant since July 2015 after the demise of Teluram Kamboj.

The counting began at 8 am amid tight security and votes were counted in 20 rounds, Sharma said.