NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has moved the bypolls for nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh from November 13th to November 20th. This decision, citing festival considerations, has sparked controversy, with Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of manipulating the schedule to sway the outcome.
Yadav, in a post on social media platform X, said, “First the Milkipur bye-election was postponed, now the date of bye-elections for the rest of the seats has been rescheduled. The BJP was never so weak.” He further alleged that the BJP fears a defeat and is employing delaying tactics.
The SP leader argued that the original election date coincided with the return of migrant workers to Uttar Pradesh for Diwali and Chhath Puja holidays. These workers, Yadav suggested, are disillusioned with the BJP and would have voted against them.
By postponing the elections, he claimed, the BJP aims to disenfranchise these voters who will likely return to their places of work before the new polling date.
The ECI, however, maintains that the decision was taken following requests from multiple political parties, including the Congress, BJP, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). These parties argued that holding elections during the festive season would negatively impact voter turnout.
Responding to Yadav’s accusations, BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla dismissed them as politically motivated. He said, “The bypoll date shift was demanded as the date coincided with Hindu festival. But Samajwadi Party has to do politics in everything. More so in this case as they are least bothered about majoritarian sentiment but about their vote bank.”
The nine assembly constituencies facing bypolls are Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sishamau, Khair, Phulpur, and Kundarki.
Eight of these seats were vacated by MLAs elected to the Lok Sabha, while the Sisamau seat requires a by-election due to the disqualification of its former SP MLA.