(L to R): Late EVKS Elangovan seeks blessing from DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin; Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav with ex-Milkipur MLA Awadhesh Prasad
Credit: PTI Images
New Delhi: Bypolls to Assembly seats of Milkipur in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya and Erode East in Tamil Nadu will be held on February 5 along with Delhi Assembly polls, the Election Commission announced on Tuesday. The counting of votes will be on February 8.
The election to Milkipur is keenly watched as Samajwadi Party's MLA Awadesh Prasad’s victory in Faizabad Lok Sabha seat had created news as the BJP lost in the constituency where Ayodhya falls. Erode East byelection was necessitated due to the death of senior Congress MLA EVKS Elangovan.
In Milkipur, Samajwadi Party will be keen to retain the seat while for the BJP, defeating its rival would be important. The BJP had won six seats and its ally RLD one in bypolls held to nine seats in November. Samajwadi Party had then lost two of the four sitting seats.
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a press conference that bypolls were also due in two assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam and Nagrota but they cannot hold due to weather conditions.
"Because of snow conditions, we will do it later. We have time till April and we will complete those elections before that," he said.
In Basirhat Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal and Visavadar Assembly seat in Gujarat which are vacant, Kumar said there are election petitions pending and, according to rules, they cannot do byelections till then. Basirhat is vacant due to the death of Trinamool Congress MP SK Nurul Islam while in Visavadar, AAP MLA Bhupendrabhai Gandubhai Bhayani resigned and joined BJP.