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Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to 'manipulate' the Assembly bypolls in the state.
"As we are hearing, bypolls on Milkipur seat have been put on hold because a petition has been filed but it should have been resolved earlier and elections should have been held on time and announced with the others," the Congress leader told ANI on Tuesday. He further said that he thinks it is the BJP trying to manipulate the bypolls in their own way. "I think they (BJP) are losing the election so they have tried to manipulate it in their way, so they are scared of losing the election. Congress will fight elections together as INDIA bloc, we will win all 9 seats and defeat BJP badly." Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had announced during a press conference on Tuesday that there are 10 vacant assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, but bypolls were only announced for nine seats. Kumar said election was not announced for Milkipur seat in Ayodhya as election petition is pending. The Election Commission of India earlier had announced the by-election schedule for 48 assembly constituencies, including nine seats in Uttar Pradesh and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala. The announcement was made by the CEC Rajiv Kumar at a press conference in which he also announced dates of assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Polling will be held on 47 assembly seats and Wayanad Lok Sabha seat on November 13, it will be held on one assembly constituency in Uttarakhand and Nanded constituency in Maharashtra on November 20. Assembly polls in Jharkhand will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20. Maharashtra will go to the polls on November 20. The results will be declared on November 23. The bypolls are spread over 15 states - Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. The bypolls in Uttar Pradesh are crucial for BJP as it suffered a setback in Lok Sabha polls. BJP could win only 33 seats compared to 62 it won in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP would be keen to regain its winning momentum in Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, The bypolls are also crucial the opposition parties. The Samajwadi Party has already declared candidates on six of the ten seats and has said it would contest the bypolls with the Congress. (ANI)
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