In keen battle for Milkipur Bypoll, SP looks to hold ground; BJP aims to avenge Ayodhya defeat

Lucknow: With the BJP going all out to avenge its humiliating defeat in Ayodhya in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the upcoming by-poll on the Milkipur assembly seat in Faizabad Lok Sabha segment has turned into a prestige battle between the saffron party and the Samajwadi Party (SP).

The by-poll on Milkipur seat was necessitated after SP leader Awadhesh Prasad, the MLA from Milkipur, resigned following his election to the Lok Sabha from Faizabad (Ayodhya) parliamentary constituency. Prasad had defeated BJP’s Lalloo Singh by over 50 thousand votes.

That the BJP has made the by-poll a prestige fight could be gauged from the fact that Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had taken charge of the seat himself and had deployed senior ministers and party leaders to ensure victory for the saffron party.

Milkipur’s caste arithmetic makes the contest almost even. While the Yadavs, Pasis and Muslims, who are considered to be the core vote bank of the SP in Milkipur, together number around 1.60 lakh, there are almost equal numbers of Brahmin, thakur and other castes also.

Adityanath, who had recently visited Ayodhya, held meetings with the local party leaders and asked them to reach out to the electorate in every village.

While the BJP was yet to declare its nominee from the seat, the SP had fielded Awadhesh Prasad’s son Ajit Prasad. Awadhesh Prasad, who was considered to be a popular dalit leader, had taken upon himself to fight the BJP and retain the seat.

Milkipur’s caste arithmetic makes the contest almost even. While the Yadavs, Pasis and Muslims, who are considered to be the core vote bank of the SP in Milkipur, together number around 1.60 lakh, there are almost equal numbers of Brahmin, thakur and other castes also.

In the LS polls, Prasad had led his BJP rival by eight thousand votes from Milkipur. ‘’Eight thousand is not a big lead,’’ remarked a BJP leader here while speaking to DH.

The BJP leader admitted that Milkipur was indeed a ‘’prestige battle’’ for the party. ‘’A win in Milkipur will certainly boost the morale of the party workers….it will be a sweet revenge,’’ he added.

Of the ten seats,  where by-polls would be held, five were held by the Samajwadi Party (SP), three by the BJP and one each by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Nishad Party, both alliance partners in the NDA.

Although the outcome of the assembly by-polls would have no effect on the BJP led government in the state, the saffron party, after its dismal performance in the state in the LS polls, would certainly go all out to regain its sitting seats and also wrest a few from the SP.