UP: Counting of votes for Milkipur by-election begins; result crucial for SP, BJP

The constituency recorded a voter turnout of 57.13 per cent. Tight security has been put in place in the constituency.

"The security is complete and the paramilitary forces were deployed 24/7," Ayodhya DM Chandra Vijay Singh told ANI.

The main contest in the constituency is between BJP's Chandrabhanu Paswan and SP's Ajit Prasad.

The by-election in the Scheduled Castes (SC)-reserved constituency holds importance for both parties. In the 2022 Assembly elections, SP's Awadhesh Prasad defeated BJP's incumbent MLA, Gorakhnath, in Milkipur.

Recently, Awadhesh Prasad dealt another setback to the BJP by defeating sitting MP Lallu Singh in the Faizabad (Ayodhya) parliamentary seat during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, securing a victory margin of 54,567 votes. This surprising defeat for the BJP occurred just months after the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

On Thursday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the BJP called their party workers from all adjacent districts for fake voting in the Milkipur by-elections.

"About the Milkipur by-election, I invited all to see how the democracy is going in a BJP-ruled state. BJP has called their party workers from all the adjacent districts like Ambedkar Nagar, Sultanpur and Amethi for fake voting. It's in the public domain how presiding officers were receiving inputs about their targets. It was a well-planned election," he said.

"This is the manner in which BJP contests elections. Election Commission is dead. We will have to gift them white cloth," he added.

On Wednesday, Yadav claimed that the police were checking the ID cards of the voters. In a post on X, Yadav demanded action from the Election Commission to remove people involved in this.

However, Ayodhya Police responded to Samajwadi Party Chief's allegation and said that the id cards of booth agents were being checked, not of voters. It also asked the former CM to "not make false statements". (ANI)