Polling will be conducted in the country on November 13 and counting will be done on November 23 of the same month accompanied by the results of Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections .
Voting for the Milkipur seat in Ayodhya will not happen, however, as it is involved in a legal case. The Election Commission announced that by-elections to nine of the ten Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh would take place.
The contest is mainly viewed as a battle of titans between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party (SP).
The Milkipur by-election has been rescheduled, as the High Court had accepted a petition against the 2022 election result that was in favor of SP candidate Awadhesh Prasad. Former MLA Gorakhnath Baba has challenged this result by stating that Prasad's notary license was canceled five years ago, which questions the validity of the nomination. With the court yet to deliver a verdict, the election date for Milkipur is still unannounced. It was earlier postponed twice due to the legal battle. The Milkipur seat fell vacant as SP leader Awadhesh Prasad was elected to Lok Sabha from Ayodhya seat.
The nine seats at which by-elections are to be held include Sisamau (Kanpur), Phulpur (Prayagraj), Karhal (Mainpuri), Majhawan (Mirzapur), Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Ghaziabad Sadar, Khair (Aligarh), Kundarki (Moradabad), and Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar).
Elections in Karhal: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had vacated the seat here after getting elected as MP from Kannauj. SP has fielded Tej Pratap-a member of Mulayam Singh family-to contest the seat. Other seats have fallen vacant due to MLAs becoming MPs, disqualification and resignation.
The seat has fallen vacant in the Phulpur assembly constituency in Prayagraj following the victory of BJP's Praveen Patel as an MP. Likewise, voting is going on on the Khair assembly constituency as the incumbent Minister Anoop Pradhan emerged victorious to become an MP.
As many as six candidates of the nine have been announced by the SP so far. The party national president's younger brother Tej Pratap is to contest from Karhal while Naseem Solanki, wife of former MLA Irfan Solanki, will contest for the Sisamau seat.
Meawhile, the BSP chief Mayawati has said her party will contest the by-elections alone and no alliance with any political party.
In social media statement, Mayawati once again reaffirmed her assurance to contest solitary and wished for elections free from the gamut of money and muscle power. She even requested BSP workers to muster up and carry the ideals of B.R. Ambedkar.
The election notification will be issued on 18th October. The last date for submitting nominations will be 25th October. Scrutiny of nominations must be completed by 28th October. Candidature can be withdrawn up to 30th October. Voting has been scheduled on November 13. Counting will be done on November 23.
Additional Chief Electoral Officer Chandrashekhar said Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the districts where by-elections are being held.
Read also| Maharashtra to Hold Polls on November 20, Jharkhand on November 13 and 20
