Voting for the Milkipur by-election in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya district began on Wednesday morning. The voting in the constituency started at 7 am and will continue until 5 pm.

The fate of candidates in the fray will be decided by the 3,70,829 voters in this Scheduled Castes (SC)-reserved constituency. However, the main contest is expected to be between Samajwadi Party’s Ajit Prasad and the BJP’s Chandrabhanu Paswan.

The by-election became necessary after Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad vacated the seat following his win in the Faizabad (Ayodhya) Lok Sabha election last year. Awadhesh was the sitting SP MLA from Milkipur, having won the seat in the 2022 Assembly elections by defeating the then-incumbent BJP MLA Gorakhnath.

On Wednesday morning, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad performed puja and recited the Hanuman Chalisa and Bajrang Bandh.

Ayodhya Range IG Praveen Kumar said that polling is proceeding peacefully and that police officials are patrolling the constituency. He also warned of strict action against any illegal activity during the polls.

“The polling is underway peacefully at all the polling stations. Magistrates and police officials are on patrol, and paramilitary forces are deployed at critical polling stations. Strict action will be taken against those who spread rumors or engage in any other illegal activities,” Kumar said.

The constituency has 255 polling centers and 414 polling booths.

The by-election has turned into a high-stakes battle between the ruling BJP and the main opposition SP, months after Awadhesh Prasad defeated BJP’s sitting MP Lallu Singh in the Faizabad (Ayodhya) parliamentary seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by 54,567 votes. This defeat came just a few months after the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

In the previously held by-elections for nine assembly seats, the BJP secured victories in six constituencies. The Samajwadi Party (SP) managed to hold its ground in two, while the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) won the Meerapur seat.

ANI