BJP, DMK emerge victorious in Milkipur and Erode bypolls

The Bharatiya Janata Party's Chandrabhanu Paswan won the Milkipur assembly bypoll in Uttar Pradesh by a margin of 61,710 votes over his Samajwadi Party rival, Ajit Prasad.

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In Tamil Nadu's Erode East constituency, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam emerged victorious with VC Chandhirakumar winning the assembly bypoll with a margin of 90,629 votes.

The Milkipur bypoll was necessitated after local MLA Awadhesh Prasad vacated the seat following his Faizabad win in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The SP fielded his son, Ajit Prasad, in the bypoll even as BJP opted for a party cadre Paswan, both from the Pasi community.

While Paswan polled 146,397 votes, Prasad garnered 84,687 votes, data from the Election Commission showed.

After his win, Paswan said, "I dedicate my victory to lord Ram and the people of Milkipur. Whatever development work has been carried out in Ayodhya in the last seven years will be replicated in Milkipur." SP MP Awadhesh Prasad, who had earlier said he was confident of a win for his son, later accused the BJP government of misusing official machinery. "Officials worked under pressure from the state government," he alleged.

"The BJP has been involved in large-scale irregularities. The Election Commission and observers were informed about them in writing but no action was taken."

While the SP was anxious to retain the seat it won in 2022 UP polls, the BJP was anxious to avenge its Faizabad loss that had happened within five months of the high-profile consecration of Ram temple at Ayodhya.