BJP-backed candidate Roshni Khalkho officially filed her nomination for the Ranchi mayor post on Wednesday, the final day of the nomination window for the Jharkhand Urban Local Body (ULB) elections.

Khalkho’s nomination was preceded by a large public rally through Ranchi, attended by a significant number of supporters and senior BJP leaders including Ranchi MLA CP Singh, Hatia MLA Naveen Jaiswal and former Ranchi Municipal Corporation deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya besides several office bearers of the party.

Following the filing at the Ranchi collectorate, she stated her primary focus would be on urban development, cleanliness, and improving basic infrastructure if elected.

“Ranchi is the capital of Jharkhand. Capital used to be the mirror of a state. I am intentional about keeping this mirror clean. I want Ranchi to make a model city without compromising with its originality,” Khalkho said talking to Hindustan Times.

Roshni Khalkho is a former ward councillor from Ranchi and is associated with the BJP’s Jharkhand ST Morcha. She gained prominence as the lead petitioner in Jharkhand High Court case that eventually compelled the state government to hold these civic polls after a delay of nearly three years.

Before Khalkho filed her nomination several other BJP leaders also filed their nomination for the post, including BJP ST Morcha media in-charge Rajendra Munda, former councillor Sujata Kacchap, senior leader Sunil Faquira Kacchap and Sanjay Toppo. They justified their step saying the civic body election was not contested on party line and thus they did nothing wrong by filing nomination.

Asked how she would manage these leaders, Khalkho said, “They filed their nomination before I filed my nomination. All love me. After they know that I have filed a nomination with the support of the party they will definitely support me. I have respect for all,” Khalkho said.

Entry of Khalkho has officially set up a ‘Khalkho vs Khalkho’ battle against Rama Khalkho, Congress-backed former mayor who filed her nomination the previous day.