Milkipur Bypoll Election Result 2025: Why is this fight a battle of prestige for BJP, SP?

Far away from Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is fighting another crucial battle.

This one, however, is not against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) but the Samajwadi Party (SP).

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The Milkipur bypoll has become a high-stakes fight for both the BJP and SP.

The by-election was necessitated after Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad vacated the seat, having won the Lok Sabha election from Faizabad (Ayodhya) last year.

The constituency saw a voter turnout of 57.13 per cent in the election held on February 5. The counting of votes is taking place today.

But why is this seat a matter of prestige for both parties? Who is leading? Let’s take a look:

Why Milkipur bypoll is important

Simply put, the BJP sees this election as a chance to settle scores after its loss in Faizabad during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Months after the saffron party’s unexpected defeat to the SP in Faizabad, where the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was inaugurated, this bypoll has become a prestige battle for both parties.

The loss in Faizabad surprised many who had predicted an easy win for the BJP, especially after the pran pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Lalla idol at the Ayodhya Ram Temple in January that year.

Notably, Milkipur is an assembly segment within the Faizabad constituency.

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Awadhesh Prasad’s son, Ajit Prasad, is contesting on an SP ticket, while the BJP has fielded Chandrabhan Paswan. Both belong to the Pasi caste, which has a huge presence in Milkipur. The majority of voters here are Dalits, followed by Yadavs, Brahmins, and Muslims.

Although ten candidates are in the fray, the main contest is between SP’s Ajeet Prasad and BJP’s Chandrabhan Paswan. While the SP aims to hold onto the seat, the BJP is seeing this bypoll as an opportunity to avenge its Faizabad defeat. In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections , this was the only seat the BJP lost in the Ayodhya district.

The BJP assigned several ministers and MLAs for rallies, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself campaigning there multiple times. The party urged voters to “avenge their defeat in Ayodhya” (Faizabad).

Meanwhile, SP supporters focused on issues such as unemployment and delays in government exams to criticise the BJP-led state and central governments.

During his campaign in Milkipur, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya accused the SP of misleading Ayodhya’s voters by “lying” and “cheating” in the Lok Sabha polls. He said that the Akhilesh Yadav-led party would lose its deposit in the bypoll.

“In the Milkipur Vidhan Sabha by-election, promise to avenge the Lok Sabha election defeat by making the Samajwadi Party forfeit its deposit,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.

Yogi Adityanath described the Milkipur contest as a fight between “nationalism and dynastic politics” and added, “The SP is a party of criminals.”

Now, turning the bypoll into a battle of honour, the BJP is determined to reverse its Faizabad loss , just months after the January 2024 inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Akhilesh Yadav, on the other hand, described the Milkipur bypoll in Ayodhya as a direct contest between “the people and the administration,” alleging that the BJP deliberately delayed the election out of fear of losing.

“This is not just an election, it is a challenge. The BJP knew that the people of Milkipur would never abandon the Samajwadi Party, so they ensured the poll did not take place earlier.”

Urging voters to turn out in large numbers, Yadav claimed that the bypoll would shape the direction of the 2027 state assembly elections. “The BJP tried to create a communal atmosphere, but Ayodhya’s voters stood with the Samajwadis. Now, Milkipur will send another strong message for the future of Uttar Pradesh politics,” he added.

SP vs BJP over ‘rigging’ allegations

The Samajwadi Party leader, in his criticism of the Election Commission (EC), called it “dead” and accused the Milkipur bypoll of being riddled with malpractice. Yadav alleged that voter suppression and fraudulent activities, including fake voting and intimidation of voters and election agents, had taken place, claiming that the BJP had colluded with local authorities to rig the election.

The Kannauj MP accused the BJP government of engaging in “widespread electoral malpractice” along with local authorities, alleging fake voting and intimidation tactics.

The BJP, however, dismissed these claims, stating that the by-election was conducted fairly and transparently. Party spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi accused Yadav of spreading false propaganda, saying, “The Samajwadi Party is spreading lies out of frustration after its imminent defeat in Milkipur.”

Milkipur assembly bypoll 2025: Who’s winning?

BJP’s Chandrabhan Paswan has won the seat by 61,710 votes against his Samajwadi Party rival Ajit Prasad for the Milkipur assembly bypoll on Saturday, according to the Election Commission website.

Paswan had secured 146,397 votes, while Ajit Prasad, son of SP’s Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad, had received 84,687 votes.

While the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) did not contest the bypoll, Congress extended its support to its alliance partner, SP.

In the 2022 Assembly elections, SP’s Awadhesh Prasad defeated BJP’s sitting MLA, Gorakhnath, in Milkipur.

According to a report by The Indian Express, the Milkipur seat has around 3.60 lakh voters, including 1.25 lakh Dalit voters, of which 65,000 to 70,000 belong to the Pasi community. Other OBC communities, such as Chaurasiyas, Mauryas, Vishwakarmas, and Chauhans, make up about 30,000 voters, while the Muslim electorate stands at nearly 30,000.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP suffered a huge setback in Uttar Pradesh. While the SP-Congress alliance secured 43 seats, the BJP managed only 36, which was 30 fewer than its 2019 tally.

With inputs from agencies