ECI to hold bypoll on Ayodhya’s Milkipur seat? Petitioner announces to withdraw petition in court

The Election Commission announced by-elections in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday (October 15), however, the bypoll for the Milkipur seat in Ayodhya was halted. The reason behind this was revealed to be an election petition, due to which the Milkipur by-election was put on hold. The Election Commission on Tuesday announced that bypolls to nine of the 10 vacant assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, except Milkipur of Ayodhya district, will be held on November 13.

Lawyer announces withdrawal of petition
In the latest development on the matter, the lawyer representing former MLA Gorakhnath Baba of Milkipur has announced the withdrawal of the petition. Advocate Rudra Vikram Singh, who handles Gorakhnath Baba’s affairs, made this announcement through a video message.

What is the petition that stopped the bypoll?
Former MLA Gorakhnath Baba had filed a petition after losing the 2022 Assembly election, challenging the victory of the Samajwadi Party candidate, Awadhesh Prasad. According to Gorakhnath Baba, Awadhesh Prasad had submitted an affidavit during his nomination with an expired notary date. It is important to note that if the notary date is expired, the nomination is invalidated.

Gorakhnath Baba had filed the petition in court, citing the case of MLC Anoop Gupta as a precedent. Baba is considered a strong BJP leader. He was elected as the MLA from Milkipur in 2017 but lost in the 2022 election. In that election, Awadhesh Prasad of the Samajwadi Party won by over 13,000 votes.

Dates announced for Maharashtra and Jharkhand Elections
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has announced the dates for the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections. Elections in Maharashtra will be held on November 20, and the votes will be counted on November 23. In Maharashtra, the election will take place in a single phase. In Jharkhand, voting will take place on November 13 and 20, with results also being declared on November 23. Jharkhand will have elections in two phases.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar stated that Maharashtra will have 96.3 million voters, with 50 million male voters. Votes will be cast at 100,000 polling booths, with approximately 960 voters per booth. In Jharkhand, there are 26 million voters, including 13.1 million male voters and 12.9 million female voters. There will be 29,526 polling booths in Jharkhand, with an average of 881 voters per booth.