Assembly bypolls: BJP appoints U.P. election in charge, six joint in charges

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday appointed its senior leader and former Union minister Mahendra Nath Pandey as party’s state election in charge for bypolls to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh scheduled to take place on November 13.

Besides, the ruling party also appointed six joint election in charges. They are Harish Kumar Singh, Anil Chaudhary, Ranjana Upadhyay, Mukut Behari Varma, Kamlesh Kumar and Rajendra Tewari.

The ECI has announced bypoll schedule for nine assembly seats in the state barring Milkipur in Ayodhya. Late date for filing of nomination papers is October 25 and for withdrawal October 30. Polling is scheduled for November 13 and counting of votes will take place on November 23.

The assembly seats where bypolls will be held include Katehri (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sishamau (Kanpur Nagar), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad).

Eight of these seats fell vacant after the election of the sitting MLAs to Lok Sabha in June. Sishamau seat in Kanpur Nagar fell vacant after the conviction of the SP’s Haji Irfan Solanki in a criminal case. The ECI has not announced the schedule for the Milkipur seat in Ayodhya as an election petition challenging election of the then Samajwadi Party MLA Awadhesh Prasad is pending in the high court.

Four of the nine assembly seats going to polls were held by the SP, three by the BJP and one each by the NISHAD party and the RLD. RLD MP Chandan Chauhan was the sitting MLA from Meerapur before he won the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat.