Of the nine seats where by-elections are being held, eight seats have become vacant due to the resignation of the sitting MLAs from the Assembly after being elected to the Lok Sabha, while in Sisamau, Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Irfan Solanki has been convicted in a criminal case. By-election is being held due to cancellation of his assembly membership after his departure.
A total of 90 candidates are in the fray in the by-election. Maximum 14 candidates are in the fray from Ghaziabad assembly constituency. At the same time, at least five candidates each are trying their luck on Khair (safe) and Sisamau seats. The electoral fate of all of them was sealed in electronic voting machines today.
In the 2022 assembly elections, SP had won Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki seats, while BJP had won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhwan and Khair seats.
The Meerapur seat was held by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which is now an ally of the BJP. Congress is not contesting the by-elections and is supporting its ‘Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance’ (India) ally SP. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is contesting all the nine seats on its own.
Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has fielded candidates on Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Mirapur seats, while Chandrashekhar’s Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) has fielded candidates on all seats except Sisamau.
With inputs from PTI
