EC defers bypolls for 14 seats from November 13 to 20

The Election Commission on Monday rescheduled from November 13 to November 20 the assembly bypolls to all nine and four seats in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, respectively, and one seat in Kerala in view of festivals, an official statement said.

The decision was lauded by the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP, which said it was needed because people would be busy with festivals.

On October 27, Kapil Dev Aggarwal, minister of state in the UP government, wrote to the ECI to reschedule the bypolls due to festival days. He wrote that people would go two-three days before Kartik Purnima, on November 15, to attend the Purnima Mela in Garhmukteshwar and other sites in the state.


The Samajwadi Party, however, attacked the BJP for delaying an imminent defeat by rescheduling the bypolls.

"If you postpone it, you will lose even worse," SP president Akhilesh Yadav said in a post on X. "First the Milkipur by-election was postponed, now the dates for by-elections for the remaining seats have been announced. The BJP was never so weak."

In Kerala, the byelection to the Palakkad assembly seat has been rescheduled, while that in Chelakkara assembly and Wayanad Lok Sabha seats will be held as scheduled on November 13.

Parties including Congress, BJP, BSP and RLD had urged ECI to reschedule the bypolls in view of various festivals.