BJP supported candidate Dr Shweta Sharma was unanimously selected as President of Gariaband Zila Panchayat, while Paras Thakur was unopposedly chosen as Vice President. The election was held in Auction Hall of Forest Department and was conducted by Addition Collector and Election Officer Ramji Sahu who handed over the certificate to Dr Sharma and Thakur.
The occasion was marked with presence of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zila Panchayat Vivekananda Reddy, SDM K Gupta and other officers of district administration. Notably, during the election for Member of Zila Panchayat, the BJP had supported Chhattar Singh Thakur while Congress had extended its support to Sharda Mishra.
Dr Sharma had earlier fought as an independent candidate after rebelling from BJP and won the election. Similarly Paras Thakur had defeated BJP supported candidate Rituraj Shah. Interestingly, only one candidate each supported by both BJP and Congress were able to win the election while remaining nine of them are independent candidates. later on, the BJP extended its support to Dr Sharma.
Talking to reporters, the newly elected Zila Panchayat President said she was impressed by works being undertaken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Raman Singh. “This is people’s victory and I am grateful to the people of Gariaband,” she said. Replying to query about joining BJP she said she supported the ideology of BJP and RSS.