Polling parties depart with materials ahead of Milkipur By-Election

Presiding Officer Kaushalendra Pratap Singh said, "I have collected everything, and I will leave soon. It is a highly responsible job because the area is very sensitive, and we have to perform our duty efficiently."

Ayodhya District Magistrate Chandra Vijay Singh Chandra Vijay Singh confirmed that around 20 percent of presiding officers have collected their polling materials.

He said, "Polling parties are departing today. Around 20% of presiding officers have collected their polling materials already. There are 414 booths, and each booth has four employees taking care of the process."

He continued, "Force deployment has been done in line with the Election Commission guidelines. Paramilitary forces and many companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) have been deployed. Voting will go on from 7 am to 5 pm."

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday condemned the Uttar Pradesh government "for not releasing" the list of people who died due to the stampede in Maha Kumbh during rush coinciding with Mouni Amawasya.

Addressing a rally in Milkipur assembly constituency in Ayodhya which will see bypoll on February 5, Yadav said the government has been releasing daily figures of the number of people who took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam but has not released the list of casualties.

He disagreed with the figure of 30 deaths given by the state government and said people were still searching for their loved ones.

Several opposition leaders have demanded accountability from the state government for the tragic incident.

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav blamed the government, stating that the incident took place because of the mismanagement of the administration.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said that the incident is a matter of concern and the entire country is worried about the loss of lives in the incident. (ANI)