9/10 Assembly bypolls announced in UP, only exception Milkipur in Ayodhya

All the seats except Sisamau fell vacant after their MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha polls. In Sisamau, SP MLA Irfan Solanki was disqualified after being convicted in a criminal case.

The Election Commission’s decision to not hold the by-election in Milkipur due to a pending election petition against the Samajwadi Party’s 2022 winning candidate, Awadesh Prasad, took everyone by surprise on Tuesday.

The election petition in the Allahabad High Court against Prasad was filed by former BJP MLA Baba Gorakhnath, who lost to the SP leader by a margin of over 13,000 votes in 2022. Alleging anomalies in nomination papers of Prasad’s poll affidavit, Gorakhnath had demanded fresh elections in the constituency.

Prasad, who is currently an MP from Faizabad, said: “The Election Commission has cited a 2022 case to put the election in Milkipur Assembly seat on hold. This is ethically wrong. After I was a Member of Parliament from Faizabad, I resigned from the Membership of Assembly on June 12, which was accepted on June 13. The Milkipur seat has already been notified as vacant. Thus, taking cognizance of any previous petition now does not hold any relevance.”

Claiming that the BJP got the elections in Milkipur withheld as the ruling party is on a sticky wicket there, Prasad told The Indian Express: “The fact is that the ruling BJP is worried. It lodged a false FIR against my son. (UP Chief Minister) Yogi (Adityanath) ji has made Milkipur an issue of prestige, but the ground reports suggest that BJP would lose again. That is why the BJP is worried. They (BJP) have over two dozen contenders from the seat but they are still finding it difficult to select one. Therefore, they (BJP) are adopting such measures.”

Prasad’s son, Ajeet, has already been declared as the SP candidate from Milkipur.

Meanwhile, speaking to PTI, former MLA Baba Gorakhnath said that he has decided to withdraw his petition in the Allahabad High Court so that bypolls could be held in Milkipur constituency.

In his petition, Gorakhnath has alleged that Prasad’s oath was incorrect while filing nomination in the 2022 Milkipur Assembly bypoll. The writ states that the notary who attested Prasad’s documents did not have a valid license on the date of filing nomination, as required by Supreme Court guidelines.

“I will withdraw this litigation within a week from the High Court as I and another person named Shivmurti have filed the writ. We have decided to withdraw the case to pave the way for the by-election,” the former MLA said.

Asked about the progress of the case, he said the High Court had asked for some documents in September 2023 and there were some arguments done in the case but no date for the next hearing was given. “The matter remained pending,” Gorakhnath told PTI.

In the meantime, senior Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary Avinash Pande and state unit chief Ajay Rai announced to offer prayers at Ram Temple and Hanuman Garhi in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

“We were making our preparations for the bypolls in Milkipur but got to know that elections won’t be held in the seat,” said Sanjay Tiwari, who was recently appointed co-ordinator for Milkipur by the Congress.

Since the BJP’s surprise defeat at the hands of SP in Faizabad — where Ram Temple in Ayodhya is located — in the recent Lok Sabha election, the ruling party has been leaving no stones unturned to win back Milkipur. The SP, on the other hand, is also keen on retaining the seat, thus making it a prestige battle for both.

Chief Minister Adityanath, who has taken control of the BJP’s preparations for the bypolls, has so far held four public meetings in Milkipur and neighbouring Katehri Assembly segment. The party has also appointed Cabinet ministers as in-charge for each of the Assembly segments set to go for the by-elections and directed them to regularly camp in the constituency, resolve public grievances, and ensure that beneficiaries avail government schemes.

— With PTI Inputs