BJP eyes comeback in Ayodhya as counting begins for Milkipur assembly bypoll

Counting of votes for the Milkipur assembly bypoll began amid tight security on Saturday, election officials said. They said counting of votes cast through electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be held on 14 tables at the counting centre.

According to the Conduct of Election Rules, postal ballots will be counted first and the process of counting of votes recorded in EVMs begin 30 minutes later.

After that, counting of votes cast through postal ballots and EVMs will continue simultaneously.


Since 2019, VVPAT (voter verifiable paper audit trail) slips from five randomly selected polling stations are matched with the EVM count for greater transparency.

The officials said paramilitary force personnel had been deployed to ensure security during the counting exercise.

More than 65 per cent of the total 3.71 lakh voters in the Milkipur constituency of Ayodhya district exercised their franchise in the February 5 bypoll, surpassing the turnout recorded in the 2022 assembly polls.

With the constituency part of the politically-significant Ayodhya district, the bypoll turned into a prestige battle between the Samajwadi Party and Uttar Pradesh's ruling BJP.

Ten candidates were in the fray but the main contest was between the Samajwadi Party's Ajit Prasad and BJP nominee Chandrabhanu Paswan.

The bypoll was held after Awadhesh Prasad of the Samajwadi Party vacated the seat following his victory in the Lok Sabha elections from Faizabad.

Even as the Samajwadi Party looked to retain the seat, the BJP saw the bypoll as an opportunity to avenge its loss in Faizabad.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Milkipur was the only seat the BJP lost in Ayodhya district.