UP's Milkipur bypoll cleared as HC allows withdrawal of petition

The petition had challenged the 2022 election victory of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Awadhesh Prasad, now the Faizabad MP.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Monday allowed to withdraw election petition filed by former BJP MLA Baba Gorakhnath, clearing the path for a bypoll in the high-profile Milkipur assembly constituency of Ayodhya.

The Milkipur assembly seat fell vacant in June after Awadhesh Prasad was elected to the Lok Sabha (File photo)

The petition had challenged the 2022 election victory of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Awadhesh Prasad. Justice Pankaj Bhatia of the single-judge bench passed the order, ending a legal hurdle that had delayed the bypoll process.

The Milkipur assembly seat fell vacant in June after Awadhesh Prasad was elected to the Lok Sabha. While the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced bypolls for nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh on October 15, Milkipur was excluded due to the pending petition.

Gorakhnath, who represented the BJP as the Milkipur MLA in 2017 but lost to Prasad in 2022, had filed the petition alleging discrepancies in Prasad’s nomination. According to the petition, Prasad took an incorrect oath during the filing process, and the notary who authenticated his documents lacked a valid license. The issue came to light following an RTI inquiry.

On October 17, Justice Bhatia directed Gorakhnath to serve a copy of his withdrawal application to all parties and publish it within a week. The court’s final approval on Monday now allows the ECI to proceed with scheduling the bypoll.

Advocate Sandeep Yadav, representing Gorakhnath, confirmed the development. “The high court has permitted the withdrawal of the election petition, paving the way for the Milkipur bypoll. A copy of the order will be sent to the ECI, which will decide the next steps,” Yadav said.

In the recent bypolls held on November 20 for the other nine seats, the BJP secured seven victories while the SP won two.