AYODHYA: Nearly 30 percent votes were cast in the first two hours of polling for the bypoll in Milkipur Assembly constituency of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm, officials said. According to the Election Commission (EC), 29.86 percent votes were cast till 11 am.The Milkipur bypoll has turned into a prestige battle between the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party as the seat is part of the politically significant Ayodhya district.While voting is underway at polling booths, Samajwadi Party leaders alleged that police are checking the identity cards of voters to “create fear” in them.Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on X, “The Election Commission should immediately take cognisance of pictures related to the news that Ayodhya Police—senior police officers included—is checking the ID cards of voters in Milkipur.” “This is a murder of democracy by indirectly influencing voting by creating fear among voters. Such people should be removed immediately and punitive action should be taken,” he said attaching a picture with his post.Talking to reporters, Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad alleged that the BJP wanted to win the election by creating pressure on officers to influence voting.Ayodhya Senior Superintendent of Police Raj Karan Nayyar categorically refuted the accusations levelled by the Samajwadi Party.The SSP clarified that the photo in question depicted police personnel verifying the identification credentials of a polling agent, and emphasised that law enforcement officers are not conducting any verification of voters’ identification documents.There are 10 candidates in the fray but the main contest is between Samajwadi Party’s Ajit Prasad and the BJP’s Chandrabhanu Paswan.The stakes in the bypoll in Milkipur, which is in Ayodhya district, were raised by SP’s Awadhesh Prasad’s surprise win from Faizabad in last year’s Lok Sabha polls that came just months after the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.Talking to reporters, IG Pravin Kumar said, “Voting is going on peacefully at all polling stations. Magistrates and police officers are on patrol. Paramilitary forces have been deployed at important polling stations.””Strict action will be taken against those spreading rumours or indulging in any other illegal activity,” he added.There are 255 polling centres and 414 polling stations for the election.More than 1.93 lakh men, and over 1.78 lakh women voters and eight third-gender people are registered to vote for the bypoll.There are 4,811 first-time voters in the assembly constituency.While the BSP is not contesting the bypoll, the Congress is backing its alliance partner SP on the seat.Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has also fielded a candidate from the seat.The bypoll was necessitated when SP leader Awadhesh Prasad vacated the Milkipur seat after winning the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.Even as the SP is looking to retain the seat, the BJP sees the election as an opportunity to avenge its loss in Faizabad. In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Milkipur was the only assembly seat the BJP lost in Ayodhya district.
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