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The Lucknow Bench of the High Court on Monday dismissed a writ petition concerning the Milkipur Assembly seat, paving the way for the election to proceed.
On October 16, the Election Commission had postponed the election for the Milkipur seat due to a pending election petition. Speaking to ANI, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad emphasised the significance of the seat. The Ayodhya MP said, "After the Milkipur seat fell vacant, the writ filed by a BJP member against me became infructuous. Once the seat fell vacant and I resigned, it became his (the BJP member's) moral duty to withdraw his petition. This seat holds great importance as it is connected to Akhilesh Yadav and Ayodhya. The public is resolute in ensuring Ajeet Prasad's victory from this constituency." However, BJP MLA Baba Gorakhnath, who had filed the petition against Awadhesh Prasad, announced that the petition would be withdrawn. He explained, "When anyone contests Vidhan Sabha elections, all their documents are notarised. The lawyer who notarised his (Awadhesh Singh's) documents had a license that expired six years ago, prompting us to file a case. He resigned after being elected as an MP... Yesterday, we were dissatisfied with the Election Commission's decision, so we decided to withdraw the petition. We want the elections to take place and will withdraw the case to ensure the people can elect their MLA." Baba Gorakhnath's advocate, Rudra Vikram Singh, clarified that the petition had been filed in 2022 because the notary's license had expired. Singh further alleged that the affidavit submitted by Awadhesh Singh was "fraudulent" as it was notarised by someone without a valid license. Following the Election Commission's announcement to delay the election due to the pending petition, the BJP decided to withdraw their case. Singh said, "Now that the Election Commission has announced a delay in the election because of the petition, we have decided to withdraw it. We do not want the people of Milkipur to be deprived of their right to choose their MLA." Notably, bypolls were held in nine assembly constituencies, excluding Milkipur. The results of the assembly bypolls were declared on November 23. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP secured six assembly by-poll victories, with its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) winning one seat. Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party managed to win only two of the nine seats. (ANI)
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