Lucknow, February 5 || TC - Voting for the by-election in the Milkipur Assembly seat, located in Ayodhya, began at 7 AM today and witnessed a moderate turnout in the initial hours. According to the Election Commission, the voter turnout reached 29.86% by 11 AM.
The Milkipur seat is considered a significant contest, pitting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the Samajwadi Party (SP), with both parties intensely competing. This by-election comes after a series of fierce battles between the two parties in recent elections for nine other seats.
So far, the voting process has remained calm, with strict surveillance by security forces at all polling stations.
On Wednesday, the SP, the main opposition party, posted several complaints on social media, accusing the administration of using intimidation tactics to scare voters.
Akhilesh Yadav, the SP leader, raised concerns on the social media platform X, alleging that the Ayodhya police were checking voter IDs in Milkipur in a manner that involved senior police officers. He claimed this was a violation of democratic rights, as it created fear among voters and influenced the voting process.
“The Election Commission must take immediate action regarding the photos of Ayodhya police checking the ID cards of voters in Milkipur. Senior police officials are involved, and this is an attempt to indirectly influence voting by instilling fear. Such officials should be removed immediately, and legal action should be taken,” Akhilesh wrote.
In response to the concerns, Ayodhya’s Inspector General of Police, Praveen Kumar, assured the media that voting was progressing peacefully across all centers. He mentioned that magistrates and police officers were continuously patrolling the polling stations, and paramilitary forces were deployed at key stations to monitor the situation.
A day before the by-election, the Chief Electoral Officer, Navdeep Rinwa, had announced that voting in Milkipur would begin at 7 AM and end at 5 PM. He emphasized that voters whose names were not on the electoral roll would not be allowed to vote, and they must present their voter IDs or any other valid identification approved by the Election Commission.