Claiming to have contested four lok Sabha and three Vidhan Sabha elections so far without winning but receiving votes in the region of 10,000, independent candidate Sanjay Goyal contesting the Vidhan Sabha election 2017 from Dehradun Cantt constituency appealed the public to vote for independent candidates. “I have been contesting elections for years and though I may not have won, I got 10,000 to 18,000 votes while contesting various elections. This will be my fourth Vidhan Sabha election and I appeal the people to check what Harbans Kapoor has given to the constituency in 28 years as its MlA. I am contesting as an independent because the parties demand exorbitant amount for a ticket. I thought of filing nomination as a BSP candidate but was asked to shell out Rs five lakh for a ticket to contest from a seat where defeat was expected. The BJP and Congress are not clean either, the ticket to contest from Dehradun Cantt seat cost Rs three crore to one of their candidates,” he alleged. Claiming that he would facilitate efficient execution of governmental provisions for all sections of society if elected, Goyal opined that the chances of independent candidates were being affected by limited media coverage. Campaigning in support of Goyal, noted actor Raju Shrestha said, “What I heard from him about the situation here is shocking.
A person like him who says that he has reduced his paternal inheritance to half contesting elections repeatedly, is evidently doing so to get a chance to serve the public,”said Shrestha, while also adding that the public should beware of electoral promises like the ones made in the previous lok Sabha election.