UP Bye-Election: Bharatiya Janata Party has requested to postpone the by-elections on nine seats in Uttar Pradesh by a week. A letter has been written by the party to the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh in this regard. It has been demanded in the letter that voting for the by-elections on nine seats in the state should be held on November 20 instead of November 13.
The party has cited the Kartik Purnima bath as the reason behind the request to postpone voting. The party says that a large number of voters leave two-three days in advance to take part in this bath. Due to this they will not be able to use their franchise.
Commission announced date of 13th November
It is noteworthy that the Election Commission on Tuesday had announced the schedule of by-elections on nine seats in the state along with the assembly elections of Maharashtra and Jharkhand. According to the program announced by the Commission, the election process will start with nominations on October 18, while voting will be declared on November 13 and the results of by-elections will be declared on November 23. Now BJP has demanded to hold voting on 20th November instead of 13th November. Voting for Maharashtra Assembly elections is also going to take place on 20th November.
BJP’s request to postpone elections
In the letter written by BJP to the Chief Electoral Officer, it has been said that the bath on Kartik Purnima has a lot of religious significance in the state. On this day, people also worship after taking bath. This time the bathing festival of Kartik Purnima is falling on 15th November. In such a situation, a large number of people will leave two-three days in advance to take part in the bathing festival and worship. Due to voting on 13th November, such people will have to face problems. There will also be a possibility of voting percentage falling during the by-elections.
Reason given for bathing on Kartik Purnima
Three-four seats have also been specifically mentioned by the BJP. The party has said that fairs are also organized on the occasion of Kartik Purnima in Mirapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad and Prayagraj in which a large number of people participate. For this, people leave in advance due to which majority of voters will be deprived of voting. The Commission has also been emphasizing on 100% voting, but in such a situation it will be difficult to achieve the target. In such a situation, it would be appropriate to postpone the voting by a week and hold the voting on 20th November.
By-elections are to be held on these seats of the state
The nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh where by-elections are to be held include Katehari, Sisamau, Karhal, Khair, Manjhwa, Phulpur, Ghaziabad City, Meerapur and Kundarki seats. Since the matter of Milkipur seat is still in the court, the date of election for this seat has not been announced yet. Experts say that Meerapur seat of Muzaffarnagar is likely to go to Rashtriya Lok Dal while BJP is ready to contest on the remaining seats.