UP Assembly's Winter session to commence today amid bypolls in Mainpuri Lok Sabha, Rampur Sadar and Khatauli assembly seats

The Uttar Pradesh government proposes to present its first supplementary budget for 2022-2023 during the winter session, according to government officials. The state government is likely to carry out some legislative business and may also table the ordinances promulgated after the monsoon session of the state legislature. BJP-

Image courtesy: PTI (file pic)

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly will witness the commencement of the Winter session amid bypolls in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat along with Rampur Sadar and Khatauli assembly seats in the state on Monday. The BJP-led state government will present its supplementary budget for 2022-23. The state assembly's third session of the year will condolence to SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. Several members may not be present in today's assembly session on Monday since by-polls to two assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat are to be held on the day.

The state government proposes to present its first supplementary budget for 2022-2023 during the winter session, according to government officials. The state government is likely to carry out some legislative business and may also table the ordinances promulgated after the monsoon session of the state legislature.

BJP-SP in direct contest in byelections

The BJP and Samajwadi Party-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) alliance are set for a direct contest in the bypolls to one Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies on Monday as the BSP and the Congress are not contesting from the seats. The polling is underway (commenced at 7 am) and the results will be declared on December 8.

The office of Uttar Pradesh`s Chief Electoral Officer stated that 24.43 lakh people, including 13.14 lakh male voters, 11.29 lakh female voters, and 132 third category voters, will exercise their voting rights in the bypolls. Voting will take place at 3,062 polling booths located in 1,945 polling centres.

Notably, the bypoll to the Mainpuri parliamentary seat is taking place due to the death of Samajwadi Party (SP) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, while elections at Rampur Sadar and Khatauli were necessitated after SP MLA Azam Khan and BJP MLA Vikram Singh Saini were disqualified following their conviction in different cases.

Azam Khan was disqualified after a court awarded him three-year imprisonment in a 2019 hate speech case, while Saini lost his membership of the assembly after his conviction in a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case. 

In Mainpuri, there are six candidates in the fray, 14 candidates are contesting from Khatauli and 10 from Rampur Sadar, according to the Election Commission. In Mainpuri, Mulayam Singh Yadav`s elder daughter-in-law and SP president Akhilesh Yadav`s wife Dimple Yadav is pitted against BJP`s Raghuraj Singh Shakya.

The BJP candidate, who was once a close associate of Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party chief and Akhilesh Yadav`s uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav, joined the saffron party ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls held earlier this year.

The BJP in Rampur Sadar has fielded Akash Saxena, who is the son of former party MP Shiv Bahadur Saxena, against senior SP leader Azam Khan`s protege Asim Raja, while in Khatauli, the fight is between Vikram Singh Saini`s wife Rajkumari Saini and Madan Bhaiya from the RLD.

The outcomes of the bypolls will not have any impact on the central or the state governments as the BJP enjoys a comfortable majority at both levels. The victory, however, would provide a psychological advantage, ahead of the 2024 general elections.

(With IANS Inputs)