Sun Feb 09 07:44:18 UTC 2025: **BJP Wins Ayodhya’s Milkipur By-Election in a Landslide Victory**

Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh – The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has secured a decisive victory in the Milkipur Assembly by-election, defeating the Samajwadi Party (SP) by a margin of approximately 55,000 votes. The counting, held amidst tight security at the Ayodhya Rajkiya Inter College, marked a significant win for the BJP, which has historically struggled in this constituency. This is only the second time in 33 years that the BJP has won the Milkipur seat.

The victory is seen as a significant turnaround for the BJP, particularly considering the SP’s win in the 2022 assembly election. The SP’s candidate, Ajit Prasad, son of sitting Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad, ran against BJP candidate Chandra Bhanu Paswan. The SP’s Awadhesh Prasad’s victory in the 2022 Lok Sabha elections was considered a major setback for the BJP. This by-election was seen as an opportunity for the BJP to reclaim lost ground in the region, particularly given the significance of Ayodhya.

The SP’s national president, Akhilesh Yadav, accused the BJP of manipulating the electoral process to secure the win, alleging misuse of power. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his disapproval.

The Milkipur seat, reserved for Scheduled Castes, witnessed a keenly contested battle primarily between the BJP and SP, both fielding candidates from the dominant Passi community. The absence of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate and Congress’s support for the SP candidate are noteworthy aspects of the election. The presence of Azad Samaj Party’s Suraj Chaudhary, formerly associated with the SP, added another layer to the contest. His performance will be closely analyzed in terms of his impact on the Dalit vote.

Political analysts suggest that this by-election result could significantly impact the upcoming 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, signifying the prevailing political dynamics in the state. The BJP’s win is being interpreted as a major boost to their standing in the region, while the SP faces the challenge of analysing the causes behind their defeat.

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