By Akhilesh Tripathi
LUCKNOW: With 9 out of 10 vacant Assembly by-polls scheduled for November 13 in Uttar Pradesh, the lone exception of Milkipur in Ayodhya has raised eyebrows. Opposition parties allege that the BJP is postponing the Milkipur Assembly by-election out of fear of defeat, prompting questions about the role of the Election Commission in this decision.
Currently, 10 Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh have been vacated as sitting MLAs contested the recent Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP won 4 seats, the Samajwadi Party (SP) won 4, and the National Lok Dal secured 1, while SP MLA Irfan Solanki had to vacate his seat from Sheeshamau after being convicted by the court. These 10 vacant seats include Ghaziabad Sadar, Phulpur, Majhwan, Meerapur, Karhal, Kundarki, Khair, Katehari, Sheeshamau, and Milkipur.
The Election Commission’s decision to postpone the Milkipur by-election has sparked widespread speculation among political circles in Uttar Pradesh’s political landscape.
The Election Commission cited an ongoing court case regarding the Milkipur seat as the reason for the delay. However, this explanation has been deemed meaningless, especially since the incumbent MLA, Avadhesh Prasad, already resigned from the Milkipur seat after winning a Lok Sabha seat. Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana has also accepted his resignation, prompting the Election Commission to declare the Milkipur seat vacant and seemingly rendering the court case irrelevant.
Many including opposition parties assert that the Election Commission has failed to act impartially, using the ongoing court case as a pretext to delay the elections. They claim that the underlying reason is the growing anti-BJP sentiment in Milkipur, prompting the Election Commission to shield the BJP from a potential defeat in the upcoming by-poll.
Many assert that the claim of a court case justifying the postponement is far from the truth. If the Election Commission believed the seat was still entangled in legal issues, why did it declare the seat vacant in the first place? These crucial questions remain unanswered, and many believe the Election Commission cannot present the reality, as its role in this matter appears anything but neutral. Critics accuse the Commission of deliberately postponing the Milkipur by-poll to protect the BJP from a looming defeat.
The BJP has suffered a considerable blow since Avadhesh Prasad’s victory from Faizabad in the Lok Sabha elections, a setback from which it has yet to recover. Prasad, a popular figure in the Milkipur constituency, has a strong rapport with the local electorate. Amid rising inflation, rampant unemployment, corruption, and escalating crime in UP, public frustration is mounting, and this discontent resonates even in Milkipur. The electorate’s growing disenchantment with the BJP government is evident, and the party recognizes it may face significant losses in Milkipur.
Therefore, the BJP is alleged to have orchestrated the delay of the poll deliberately. Public perception is increasingly leaning toward viewing the Election Commission as biased, with many considering it a mere puppet of the Modi government. The Commission is seen as operating under the government’s influence, leading to accusations that it postponed the Milkipur by-poll at the behest of the ruling party.
Faizabad’s MP Prasad has also expressed his anger over the decision not to declare the Milkipur by-poll, holding Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the BJP government responsible for this postponement. Prasad stated, “The Election Commission has claimed that the matter regarding Milkipur is pending in court, but that case ceased to exist after I resigned from my Assembly membership on June 12. The Assembly Speaker accepted my resignation on June 13, and this information was communicated to the Election Commission. Following that, the Commission declared Milkipur vacant.”
He further explained, “My 2022 Assembly election had been challenged. Now I have resigned from my Assembly membership, and it has been accepted; the matter is resolved. However, the BJP has manipulated the situation, fearing its possible defeat in Milkipur, to delay the elections.”
Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi stated, “The BJP suffered humiliation after its defeat in the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat. That is why the election for the Milkipur seat in Ayodhya was not declared.” Former Chief Minister and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on X, writing, “Whoever has postponed the war, consider that he has lost the war.”
Interestingly, Baba Gorakhnath, the BJP candidate who challenged Prasad’s previous election, also acknowledged that the matter should have concluded after Prasad’s resignation. Meanwhile, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court directed former BJP MLA Baba Gorakhnath last Thursday to serve a copy of his application for the withdrawal of his election petition in connection with the Milkipur assembly constituency to all parties in the case and take steps to get it published within a week. Gorakhnath’s application to withdraw the petition challenging the election of Samajwadi Party leader Awadhesh Prasad was filed last Wednesday.
Despite this, the BJP seems to have pulled strings to delay the elections, a move that speaks volumes about their concern over a potential loss in Milkipur.
