Ayodhya, Oct 15 (PTI) Former BJP MLA Baba Gorakhnath on Tuesday said he has decided to withdraw his petition in the high court against SP MP Awadhesh Prasad so that bypolls could be held in Milkipur assembly constituency.
His statement came after the Election Commission on Tuesday announced bypolls in 48 constituencies across 15 states, including nine seats in Uttar Pradesh. The Milkipur assembly bypoll was not part of the list as Gorakhnath’s petition against the Samajwadi Party leader is still pending in the Allahabad High Court.
In his petition, Gorakhnath has alleged that Prasad’s oath was incorrect while filing nomination in the 2022 Milkipur assembly bypoll. The SP leader won the bypoll that year and was later in 2024 elected to the Lok Sabha, necessitating by-elections in Milkipur.
The writ states that the notary who attested Prasad’s documents did not have a valid license on the date of filing nomination, as required by Supreme Court guidelines.
The matter remains sub-judice, and consequently, the by-election announcement has been postponed until the court reaches a verdict on the petition filed by Gorakhnath.
Gorakhnath told PTI, “I will withdraw this litigation within a week from the high court as I and another person named Shivmurti have filed the writ. We have decided to withdraw the case to pave way for the by-election.” Asked about the progress of the case, he said the high court had asked for some documents in September 2023 and there were some arguments done in the case but no date for the next hearing was given.
“The matter remained pending,” Gorakhnath said.
The EC on Tuesday declared the bypolls for nine of the 10 vacant seats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly will be held on November 13 and results will be out on November 23.
All the seats except Sisamau fell vacant after their MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha polls. In Sisamau, SP MLA Irfan Solanki was disqualified after being convicted in a criminal case.
In the 2022 assembly polls, Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal, Milkipur and Kundarki were held by the Samajwadi Party, while the BJP had won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair. The Meerapur seat was held by the RLD. The Karhal seat fell vacant due to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav getting elected from Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency. PTI COR KIS SKY SKY
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