In a significant development, the Allahabad High Court on Monday (November 25) gave its nod to the withdrawal of two petitions challenging the election of Samajwadi Party leader Awadhesh Prasad from the Milkipur assembly seat in the 2022 assembly polls.
According to the information released, the court's decision comes after former MLA and BJP leader Baba Gorakhnath and another petitioner sought permission to withdraw their petitions challenging the election of Samajwadi Party leader Prasad from the seat.
The court granted their withdrawal request and dismissed both petitions. It is pertinent to note that earlier, the Election Commission of India had postponed the bypolls for the Milkipur seat due to the pending election petitions. However, with the court's decision, the path is now clear for the bypolls to be held for the Milkipur assembly seat, which fell vacant after Prasad was elected to the Lok Sabha from Faizabad (Ayodhya) in the recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
Speaking about the court's decision, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad stated, "After the Milkipur seat fell vacant, the writ filed by a BJP member against me became infructuous. Once the seat fell vacant and I resigned, it became his (the BJP member's) moral duty to withdraw his petition. This seat holds great importance as it is connected to Akhilesh Yadav and Ayodhya. The public is resolute in ensuring Ajeet Prasad's victory from this constituency."
Why was the writ petition filed?
It is pertinent to note that after the conclusion of the 2022 assembly polls, which declared then-MLA Awadhesh Prasad the winner from the Milkipur seat, BJP MLA Baba Gorakhnath had filed a petition alleging discrepancies in the SP leader's election. He stated that the affidavit submitted by Awadhesh Prasad was "fraudulent" as it was notarized by someone without a valid license. "When anyone contests Vidhan Sabha elections, all their documents are notarized. The lawyer who notarized his (Awadhesh Prasad's) documents had a license that expired six years ago, prompting us to file a case. He resigned after being elected as an MP."
However, the BJP leader now added that they decided to withdraw the petition. "We want the elections to take place and will withdraw the case to ensure the people can elect their MLA," the BJP leader stated.
(With inputs from PTI)
