Samajwadi Party faces the challenge of repeating the success they got in the Milkipur assembly seat in Ayodhya during the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. With its national general secretary and Ayodhya MP Awadhesh Prasad ,after being elected as their MP, Samajwadi Party no longer has even a single MLA from the district.The challenge before them is to maintain the success achieved in the 2022 Assembly elections and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a political expert expressed here on Monday.

Two SP MLAs were elected in the assembly elections held one- and- a half years ago. One was Awadhesh Prasad from Milkipur assembly (reserved) seat and the other was Abhay Singh from Gosainganj assembly seat. Prasad was elected MP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and he vacated the Milkipur assemblyseat, while Abhay Singh got disillusioned with the SP before the general elections and now is attached with BJP. In the 2022 assembly elections, out of five assembly seats in the district, BJP has been represented on three and Samajwadi Party on two.

Assembly elections are to be held in UP in 2027 and there is still more than two years away. Before that, there is a challenge to retain and open the party’s account in Milkipur by-election. SP has declared MP’s son Ajit Prasad as its candidate but the ruling BJP is yet to decide on the nominee. More than 10 claimants including two former MLAs Gorakhnath Baba and Ramu Priyadarshi are in the race for ticket from BJP.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself has visited Milkipur thrice and this shows how important is Milkipur by-election for the ruling party. Apart from him, four of his ministers were camping in the by-election area. They are engaged in direct communication with the public through Chaupal and other programmes. Besides, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya took part in the programme organized at Shri Gahanagdev Sanskrit Higher Secondary School located in Raipatti of Amaniganj block last week. Milkipur is also among the 10 assembly seats of the state for which by-elections are to be held probably next month.