EC announces 9 bypolls in UP, holds back one in Ayodhya

The Election Commission on Tuesday announced that bypolls to nine of the 10 vacant assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, except Milkipur of Ayodhya district, will be held on November 13.

This has invited sharp reaction from the Opposition, with the Samajwadi Party saying that the BJP was afraid of its defeat in Milkipur due to which it moved the court for "stalling" polls on the assembly seat.

Bypoll to the Milkipur assembly seat was not announced as an election petition is pending in the high court against the candidate who had won the seat earlier.

The assembly seats where bye-elections will be held are Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Kundarki, Phulpur, Sisamau, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Kahir.

Eight of these assembly seats fell vacant after its MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha, while the bypoll in Sisamau is being held due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case.

In the 2022 assembly polls, Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal, Milkipur and Kundarki were held by the SP, while the BJP had won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Kahir. The Meerapur seat was held by the RLD.

The SP has raised question over not declaring bypoll to Milkipur seat.

"Whoever has postponed the war, consider that he has lost the war," SP president Akhilesh Yadav said in a post on X in Hindi.

SP spokesperson Anurag Bhadauria said, "When election is being held on nine seats, why it can't be held on the 10th seat -- Milkipur. What report the state government has given to the EC. It should be made clear."

Party leader Manoj Yadav said the BJP is afraid of its defeat in Milkipur due to which it has approached court for stalling poll on this seat.

"The BJP has moved the court for stalling Milkipur bypoll. It shows it is afraid of the SP. Our INDIA bloc will win maximum seats in the state," Yadav said.

Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi, when asked about the bypolls, told PTI, "The BJP suffered humiliation after its defeat in Faizabad Lok Sabha seat. That is why the election on Milkipur seat of Ayodhya was not declared."

About the nine seats on which bypolls are declared, he said, "INDIA bloc will win these seats."

However, the BJP has defended the EC's decision on Milkipur seat.

"The licence of the person who got the notary done in the nomination filed by SP's Awadhesh Prasad, who won Milkipur in the 2022 assembly elections, was revoked five years ago. Against this, two candidates Gorakhnath and Ram Murti had filed a petition in the court, which has not been disposed of yet. That is why bypoll was not declared on this seat," BJP spokesperson Harischandra Srivastava told PTI.

UP minister Dayashankar Singh said the Opposition had misled people in the 2022 polls by saying that the BJP would be changing the Constitution, but this would not work now.

"We will win on all the seats in the bypolls," Singh said.

While Karhal seat fell vacant after SP chief Yadav was elected from Kannauj as MP, Katehari fell vacant following the election of party's Lalji Verma to the Lok Sabha from Ambedkar Nagar.

SP leader Awadhesh Prasad's election to the Lok Sabha from Faizabad (Ayodhya) led to his resignation from Milkipur seat, while SP leader Zia ur Rahman Barq's Kundarki assembly seat in Moradabad has fallen vacant following his election to the Sambhal Lok Sabha seat.

Chandan Chauhan of Rashtriya Lok Dal resigned from his Meerapur assembly seat of Muzaffarnagar following his election to Lok Sabha from Bijnor.

Similarly, the Ghaziabad assembly seat fell vacant after BJP's Atul Garg was elected to the Ghaziabad LS seat.

BJP's Vinod Kumar Bind resigned from his Majhawan assembly seat of Mirzapur following his election to Lok Sabha from Bhadohi, while party leader Anoop Singh alias Anoop Pradhan Balmiki left Khair assembly seat of Aligarh following his election from Hathras Lok Sabha seat.

BJP's Praveen Patel resigned from Phulpur assembly seat of Prayagraj following his election to the Lok Sabha from Phulpur.

In the 2022 assembly elections, out of these 10 seats, the BJP had given Majhawan and Katehri to the ally Nishad Party, which won in Majhawan but lost in Katehari.

The Samajwadi Party has already announced the names for six assembly seats, including Karhal (Mainpuri), Sisamau (Kanpur Nagar), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Katehari (Ambedkarnagar), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Majhawan (Mirzapur).