The Aryavarth Express
Ayodhya: Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai accused the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) of trying to’manipulate’ the Assembly by polls in the state.
“As we are hearing, polls on Milkipur seat have been put on hold because a petition has been filed, but it should have been resolved earlier, and elections should have been held on time and announced with the others.”
He further said that he thinks it is the BJP trying to manipulate the by-elections in their own way.
“I think they (BJP) are losing the election, so they have tried to manipulate it in their way, so they are scared of losing the election. Congress will fight elections together as an INDIA bloc; we will win all nine seats and defeat the BJP badly.”
Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had announced during a press conference on Tuesday that there are 10 vacant assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, but by polls were only announced for nine seats. Kumar said the election was not announced for the Millipore seat in Ayodhya as the election petition is pending.
The Election Commission of India earlier announced the by-election schedule for 48 assembly constituencies, including nine seats in Uttar Pradesh and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala.
The announcement was made by the CEC Rajiv Kumar at a press conference in which he also announced dates of assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
Polling will be held in 47 assembly seats and Wayanad Lok Sabha seat on November 13. It will be held in one assembly constituency in Uttarakhand and Nanded constituency in Maharashtra on November 20. Assembly polls in Jharkhand will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20. Maharashtra will go to the polls on November 20. The results will be declared on November 23.
The by-elections are spread over 15 states: Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
The by-elections in Uttar Pradesh are crucial for the BJP, as it suffered a setback in Lok Sabha polls. BJP could win only 33 seats compared to 62 it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP would be keen to regain its winning momentum in Uttar Pradesh.
Similarly, the by-elections are also crucial for the opposition parties. The Samajwadi Party has already declared candidates for six of the ten seats and has said it would contest the by-elections with the Congress.
