Hyderabad: Apart from the Delhi Assembly Elections, voting in bypolls in Erode (east) Assembly Constituency in Tamil Nadu and Milkipur in Uttar Pradesh is also going on today (February 5).
According to the Election Commission's turnout app, till 3 pm, Erode (east) recorded an approximate turnout of 53.63 percent and Milkipur 57.13 percent. The bypoll in Milkipur was necessitated when SP leader Awadhesh Prasad vacated the seat after winning the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The bypoll in Erode (east) was necessitated by the death of Congress legislator E.V.K.S. Elangovan.
Erode East Bypolls
For bypolls in Erode (east), the Election Commission made extensive arrangements, setting up 237 polling stations across 53 locations to ensure smooth voting. Ahead of the election, all polling stations have been equipped with essential facilities, including toilets, drinking water, waiting areas, and ramps for differently-abled voters.
To oversee the voting process, 24 zonal officers have been appointed and provided with GPS-enabled vehicles. Security has been significantly tightened, with paramilitary personnel deployed at polling stations. Police have also conducted checks at hotels, wedding halls, and community centres in Erode to prevent any unauthorised stay by outsiders.
A mock voting session was carried out at 6 AM today to test the EVMs, following which official voting commenced at 7 AM and will continue until 6:00 PM. The vote counting is scheduled for February 8, with results to be announced the same day. The constituency has a total of 2,27,576 registered voters, including, 1,10,128 men,1,17,381 women and 37 transgender individuals.
The by-election has turned into a direct contest between the ruling DMK and Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) after AIADMK and BJP withdrew from the race. DMK’s candidate is former MLA V.C. Chandhirakumar, contesting after the party took over the Erode East seat from its ally, Congress.
NTK has fielded M.K. Seethalakshmi, the party’s women’s wing leader, under the leadership of actor-turned-politician Seeman. The by-election was necessitated following the death of veteran Congress leader E.V.K.S Elangovan on December 14 2024, at the age of 75.
Elangovan won the seat in the 2023 by-election after the untimely demise of his son, Thirumahan Everaa, due to a heart attack on January 4, 2023.
Milkipur Bypolls
Voting for the bypoll in the Milkipur Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh also began at 7 am today. The fate of 10 candidates in the fray will be decided by the Scheduled Castes (SC)-reserved constituency's 3,70,829 voters but the main contest is expected to be between Samajwadi Party's Ajit Prasad and the BJP's Chandrabhanu Paswan.
The stakes in the bypoll in Milkipur, which is in Ayodhya district, were raised by SP's Awadhesh Prasad's surprise win from Faizabad in last year's Lok Sabha polls that came just months after the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Voting will continue till 5 pm, officials said. There are 255 polling centres and 414 polling stations for the election.
More than 1.93 lakh male voters, and over 1.78 lakh female voters and eight third-gender people are registered to vote for the bypoll. There are 4,811 first-time voters in the assembly constituency. While BSP isn't contesting the bypoll, the Congress is backing its alliance partner SP on the seat. Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has also fielded a candidate from the seat.
Now, even as the SP is looking to retain the seat, the BJP sees the election as an opportunity to avenge its loss in Faizabad. In the 2022 UP Assembly polls, Milkipur was the only assembly seat BJP lost in Ayodhya district. The two parties had also sent out top leaders to campaign for the bypoll.
Besides the chief minister, UP's two deputy Chief Ministers -- Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak -- also campaigned for the BJP candidate. The SP sent its MP from Mainpuri and Akhilesh Yadav's wife, Dimple Yadav, for a roadshow in Milkipur. (Agency inputs)
