Setting aside all speculations, the BJP has named a lesser known party leader Chandrabhan Paswan as the party’s candidate for the crucial Milkipur assembly by-election to be held on February 5.

The Samajwadi Party has already announced Ajit Prasad, son of SP MP from Ayodhya Awadhesh Prasad, as the party nominee.

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The BJP candidate is a lawyer by profession. He is also a member of the working committee in the district unit of the BJP and his wife has been a district panchayat member for two terms from the Rudauli area. Chandrabhan’s father, Baba Ram Lakhan Das, is gram pradhan.

Congress has announced its support to the SP candidate instead of fielding its own candidate from this seat whereas the BSP announced against contesting the election from this seat.

Due to the absence of Congress and BSP in this election, there will be a direct fight between the candidates of the BJP and the SP in this reserved seat in the Ayodhya district.

According to EC’s schedule, notification for the bypolls the last date of filing of nomination is January 17. Scrutiny of papers would be done the next day and January 20 is the last date for the withdrawal of nominations.

Polling will be held on February 5 from 7 am to 6 pm and counting of votes will take place on February 8.

While the SP is confident of its victory after winning the Lok Sabha seat in Ayodhya, the BJP wants to overcome the disappointment caused by the defeat by winning this seat.

Awadhesh Prasad had won the Milkipur seat in the 2022 assembly polls defeating BJP candidate Gorakhnath Baba. But the seat fell vacant after Awadhesh Prasad was elected to Lok Sabha.

The BJP had won seven of the nine assembly bypolls in November last .