SP pits transgender candidate as Ayodhya's mayor

Pitting in the most prestigeous seat for BJP, the SP has shown its trump card in Gulshan Bindu, a transgender, by nominating her for the post of Mayor in the Ayodhya-Faizabad Municipal Corporation. One of the three new seats apart from the Vrindavan-Mathura and Sahranpur seats, it is going to the polls next month.

Gulshan, indeed, has an impressive track record as an independent candidate in the 2012 assembly elections. She stood fourth with 22,023. According to a report by the Times of India, she also gave Faizabad Nagar Palika's chairman post an attempt during the urban bodies polls and finished second to BJP's Vijay Gupta. 

According to an article by Amar Ujala, Bindu won the candidature for the advantage she had bestowed on the SP candidate Tej Narayan who was representing the party during the assembly elections. It is said that she had diverted the votes meant for BJP candidate Lallu Singh, thus giving Tej Narayan the winning ticket. Now that she has joined hands with the SP, the chances of SP winning in the elections this year is even higher.

Her slogan, "Na Muslim, Na Hindu, Abki Gulshan Bindu (Neither a Muslim nor a Hindu, this time Gulshan Bindu) won her accolades and drew the attention of the voters in the above-mentioned polls in Ayodhya. Minutes after the announcement was made, Bindu spoke to Times of India over the phone and said, "I am thankful to SP national president Akhilesh Yadav for showing confidence in me."

She further added, "Ayodhya se mein Yogi ji ko jawab doongi (I will give a befitting reply to Yogiji from Ayodhya)." Earlier in 2012, the BJP had accused Bindu of violating the election code of conduct by forcing people to swear to vote for her. It is a common belief in many parts of the state here that a broken promise given to a kinnar or a transgender
proves to be inauspicious. 
 

• india
• samajwadi party
• ayodhya
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