UP bypoll: Big SP vs BJP clash as voting in Ayodhya's Milkipur assembly seat underway
The Milkipur bypoll was necessitated after its MLA Awadhesh Prasad won the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat in which Ayodhya city lies
Voting for bypoll in Ayodhya's Milkipur assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh is underway. It is a high-stakes battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party, which stunned everyone by winning Ayodhya's Faizabad Lok Sabha seat in the general elections last year.

Milkipur, a scheduled castes-reserved seat is witnessing the main contest between BJP's Chandrabhanu Paswan and SP's Ajit Prasad.
The bypoll was necessitated after its MLA Awadhesh Prasad won the Faizabad seat in which Ayodhya city lies. The nine-time SP legislator defeated two-time BJP lawmaker Lallu Singh by a margin of 54,567 votes.
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“The polling is underway peacefully at all the polling stations. Magistrate and police officials are on patrol... Paramilitary forces are deployed at critical polling stations... Strict action will be taken against those who spread rumours or are involved in any other illegal activity,” Praveen Kumar, inspector general (IG), Ayodhya Range, told ANI.
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.
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BSP not contesting polls, Cong backing INDIA ally SP
More than 1.93 lakh male voters, and over 1.78 lakh female voters and eight third-gender people are registered to vote for the bypoll. There are 4,811 first-time voters in the assembly constituency.
While BSP isn't contesting the bypoll, the Congress is backing its alliance partner SP on the seat. Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has also fielded a candidate from the seat.
Besides the chief minister, UP's two deputy CMs -- Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak -- also campaigned for the BJP candidate. The SP sent its MP from Mainpuri and Akhilesh Yadav's wife, Dimple Yadav, for a roadshow in Milkipur, PTI reported.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
