Uttar Pradesh: BJP, SP gear up for Milkipur bypoll

Lucknow: With the decks cleared for the bypoll to the Milkipur seat in Ayodhya, the ruling BJP hopes to continue its winning streak while the opposition Samajwadi Party is seeking to retain its hold over the high-profile constituency.

The BJP is likely to rely on the Hindu unity pitch through slogans like ‘batenge toh katenge’ (divided we perish), while the SP is expected to bank on its ‘PDA’ plank.

PDA is a coinage that denotes the opposition party’s plan to connect with ‘pichda (OBCs), Dalits, and alpshanyak (minorities)’, the mainstays of the SP's impressive show in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in UP, when it won 37 Lok Sabha seats against the BJP's 33.

In the just concluded bypolls to nine seats, the BJP reclaimed its prestige, winning six seats, including the SP’s bastions like Kundarki in Moradabad, while its ally RLD won one, making it a hugely impressive 7-2 show.

The two seats that SP retained in the bypolls—the Karhal seat in Mainpuri and Sishamau seat in Kanpur—were won with markedly reduced win margins, which is why the Milkipur contest would be keenly watched.

The seat assumes importance as after victory in the Ayodhya parliamentary seat, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav aggressively attacked the BJP, questioning Hindutva politics of the saffron party, and reached Parliament with Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad, who had vacated the Milkipur seat on becoming MP.

The bypoll of this seat is due after withdrawal of pleas against the 2022 Milkipur poll in the court.

Going by the caste equations of Milkipur, Dalit votes hold the key here. Of the 3.5 lakh voters on the seat, 1.2 lakh are Dalits, around 55,000 are Yadavs (OBCs), and 30,000 are Muslims.

Political experts feel whosoever secures support of Dalits along with 60,000 Brahmins, 25,000 Kshatriyas, and OBCs would emerge a winner.

It is to be seen whether SP’s 'PDA' formula would work on this seat in the same way as it did in 2022 UP polls or if the BJP manages to bridge the caste divide to its advantage.

In 2002, SP's Awadhesh Prasad won the seat, defeating BJP's Baba Gorakhnath. While Prasad had secured 49.99 percent votes (1,03,905), Gorakhnath got 41.83 percent (90,567) votes.

While the SP has given ticket to Awadhesh's son, Ajit Prasad, the BJP is yet to finalise its candidate. The BSP has already announced not to contest the bypolls, while Congress is likely to continue its support INDIA bloc partner SP.

Former MLC and head of SP's state backward unit, Rajpal Kashyap said, "Our victory in Milkipur is certain. In the bypolls, official machinery was openly misused. This time our PDA will give a reply to the government. Ayodhya has set an example by discarding communal politics by giving support to Awadhesh Prasad by electing him in Parliament, and the trend will continue." The BJP is, however, confident of winning the seat.

"We have worked not only in Milkipur but in the entire Ayodhya. Due to the work of CM Yogi Adityanath, the people made us successful in the bypolls, and this trend would continue. Only BJP can ensure the development of Milkipur. Those pursuing caste and dynastic politics will be defeated," Uttar Pradesh BJP secretary Abhijat Mishra told PTI.

"We talk of safety of people and development. The SP supports those who talk against the country. People have understood this difference between BJP and SP," he said.

The Allahabad High Court on Monday allowed the withdrawal of two petitions challenging the election of SP leader Prasad from Milkipur constituency in 2022 assembly polls, paving the way for holding bypoll to the seat.

The Milkipur assembly seat fell vacant after Prasad was elected to Lok Sabha from Faizabad (Ayodhya) in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

Former MLA and BJP leader Gorakhnath and another petitioner had sought permission from the court to withdraw their petitions, which the court granted and dismissed both the petitions.

Date of election on the seat is yet to be decided by the Election Commission.