In the Milkipur by-election, the contest has become interesting as there are three candidates from the same community. In fact, Chandrashekhar Azad, MP from Nagina Lok Sabha seat, has also given ticket to Pasi caste candidate.
Samajwadi Party had already made Ajit Prasad, son of Ayodhya MP Awadhesh Prasad, its candidate. BJP has also given ticket to Chandrabhan Paswan who comes from the same community.
Samajwadi Party candidate Ajit Prasad also wants to create a fight between local versus outsider, but the question is whether the contest will become triangular just because all three candidates are from the same caste?
Will the contest really be triangular?
It is already clear that there is a direct contest between the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party on the Milkipur assembly seat, and what is more important is that it has become not a general contest but a battle of prestige.
Till now, only Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav were face to face regarding Milkipur by-election, now seeing the opportunity, Chandrashekhar Azad of Bhim Army has also entered.
By winning Faizabad Lok Sabha seat, Samajwadi Party has given a big challenge to BJP, and BJP wants to win Milkipur at any cost. By winning 7 seats in the recent by-elections on 9 seats, BJP has definitely reduced the pain of defeat a bit, but the full extent of the fight will take place in Milkipur only on 5th February – and the result will also be known on 8th February.
If Bahujan Samaj Party had also been in the fray, this fight would have become more special, but after poor performance in the recent by-elections, BSP has left the fray. But, BSP has been replaced by Chandrashekhar Azad’s Azad Samaj Party – it remains to be seen whether the role of ASP is the same as that of BSP or remains different. Despite the feud in Delhi, Congress has supported the Samajwadi Party candidate in Milkipur.
It cannot be said whether the Milkipur contest will be triangular or not, but Chandrashekhar Azad has definitely thrown the knot in the fight by fielding Suraj Prasad. This problem is getting stuck because Suraj Prasad has rebelled against Samajwadi Party and joined Azad Samaj Party.
It is said that Suraj Prasad was also a candidate for ticket in Samajwadi Party, but after Ajit Prasad’s name was finalized, he left Akhilesh Yadav and accepted Chandrashekhar Azad as the leader along with his supporters.
Suraj Chaudhary is said to be close to Faizabad MP Awadhesh Prasad, but he rebelled when his son Ajit Prasad was given the ticket. Suraj Chaudhary is going around saying that he had worked very hard to ensure the victory of Awadhesh Prasad in the Lok Sabha elections. It is also said that Awadhesh Prasad had promised to get the ticket from Samajwadi Party, but after winning the election, he reneged and gave the ticket to his son.
This contest could have also been triangular, if Mayawati had also stood on the front. She also took part in the election campaign, but Suraj Prasad’s role seems limited. Due to the caste of the remaining two candidates, there will definitely be a distribution of votes, but an equal distribution was inevitable. And, if this does not happen then we will remain as vote-catchers. Samajwadi Party may suffer loss due to Suraj Prasad’s rebellion and BJP may benefit.
Will Chandrabhan Paswan be considered an outsider?
The debate of local versus outsider has also started in Milkipur by-election. Samajwadi Party candidate Ajit Prasad is claiming himself to be local, and is trying to portray BJP candidate Chandrabhan Paswan as an outsider.
The big question is that when Chandrabhan Paswan is also a resident of Ayodhya, then how did he become an outsider?
Actually, Chandrabhan Paswan’s house falls in Rudauli assembly constituency. He has also been a District Panchayat member from Rudauli – and on this basis, Samajwadi Party leaders and workers are promoting Chandrabhan as an outside candidate.