All eyes on Milkipur bypoll

| | Lucknow
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All eyes on Milkipur bypoll

Monday, 03 February 2025 | PNS | Lucknow

The bypoll to Milkipur assembly seat in Ayodhya district has drawn nationwide attention as Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party are locked in a direct contest. For Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Milkipur by-election is a battle of prestige while the SP is struggling hard to retain the seat.

The polling is scheduled to be held on February 5.

The Milkipur assembly seat held by the SP fell vacant after its MLA Awadhesh Prasad was elected to the Lok Sabha from Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency. Milkipur seat is one of the assembly segments of Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency.

While the SP is trying its best to retain the seat as it will set the tone for the 2027 UP assembly elections, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to win this seat to send out a message that the Scheduled Caste voters are back in its fold and the SP’s PDA (Picchda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) plank has failed.

Yogi Adityanath, who is leading the election campaign for the BJP, reached out to the voters several time before the announcement of the bypoll and twice after the announcement. He campaigned in Milkipur once again on Sunday. Besides, his several ministerial colleagues and BJP leaders, along with National Democratic Alliance partners, are camping in Milkipur.

On the other hand, Akhilesh Yadav is likely to campaign in Milkipur on Monday, the last day of campaigning, while other SP leaders, including Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav campaigned there on Thursday.

Both the SP and the BJP have fielded candidates from the Pasi community, which is the dominant caste in Milkipur. The majority of voters of the constituency hail from a combination of Dalit, Yadav, Brahmin and Muslim communities.

The SP has fielded Ajit Prasad, son of SP MP Awadhesh Prasad, while the BJP has given its ticket to local party worker Chandrabhan Paswan. The SP leadership is already levelling charges against the ruling BJP of misusing official machinery in the bypolls and has even petitioned the Election Commission of India for webcasting in all polling booths during the polling and removing certain block level officers and presiding officers working for the BJP candidate.

However, denying the charges, the BJP claimed that the SP has already conceded its defeat.

Voters in rural areas, who generally keep mum on their preferences, have become vocal about their support to the candidate from their caste when probed inquisitively.

A total of 10 candidates are in the fray for this bypoll in the constituency in which 1.40 lakh of the 3.58 lakh voters is Dalits. About 50,000 of the Dalit voters belong to the Pasi community while others are from the Kori and Jatav communities. There are about 50,000 Other Backward Classes, 60,000 Brahmins, 50,000 Yadavs, 30,000 Muslims and 25,000 Rajput voters in the constituency. As the Dalit votes will be decisive, both the BJP and the SP are vying with each other to win the community’s support in the absence of the Bahujan Samaj Party.

Meanwhile, SP president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged that the ruling BJP has drawn plans for rigging the by-election by misusing the state machinery.

“The BJP is using all possible tricks to influence the election as the village pradhans and fair price shop owners are being pressured to support the ruling party candidate. The people of Milkipur are with the SP, but the district administration is working for the victory of the BJP candidate,” the SP chief alleged.

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