Milkipur bypoll: BJP wins the only seat it lost in Ayodhya district in 2022, SP bites dust

In the heart of India’s holy city of Ayodhya, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged victorious in a hot political contest against the Samajwadi Party (SP).

The result for the Milkipur assembly by-polls was announced on Saturday (February 8), in which BJP defeated SP in what was being termed as the battle of prestige.

BJP’s Chandrabhanu Paswan defeated SP’s Ajit Prasad by a huge vote margin of 61,710. He received more than 146,000 votes, against Prasad’s 84,000.

The bypolls for the Milkipur Assembly constituency were held on February 5 in which over 370,000 people cast their ballots.

Significance of the seat

The BJP was looking to avenge its loss in Faizabad constituency that it suffered at the hands of the SP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

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Interestingly, it was the only seat the BJP lost in Ayodhya district in the 2022 assembly polls.

The by-polls were necessitated as SP Awadhesh Prasad vacated the Milkipur seat following his victory from the Faizabad seat.

It was a high-stakes contest as BJP’s defeat from Faizabad delivered a symbolic blow to the party just months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a grand Ram Mandir.

The issue of Ram Temple has been at the fulcrum of religious and socio-political discussions in India.