UP bypolls: BJP requests change in election date due to Kartik Purnima festival

New Delhi [India], October 17 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) has requested the Election Commission to change the date of the by-election in Uttar Pradesh from November 13 to November 20, 2024, due to the Kartik Purnima festival.

The BJP delegation highlighted the significance of the festival in Uttar Pradesh and the potential impact on voter turnout.

“Kartik Purnima is on November 15 and people gather in Kundarki, Meerapur, Ghaziabad and Prayagraj three to four days before,” it stated.

Earlier on October 15, the Election Commission announced bypolls to 48 assembly constituencies including nine seats in Uttar Pradesh and the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in Kerala.

There are 10 vacant assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh but bypolls were announced for nine seats. Kumar said the election was not announced for the Milkipur seat in Ayodhya as the election petition is pending.

The largest number of bypolls will be held in Uttar Pradesh and seats going to the polls are Meerapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Karhal, Phulpur, Katehari, Majhawan, and Sishamau.

The bypolls are spread over 15 states – Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

The full moon day or the eighth lunar month, is referred to as Kartik or Kartik Purnima. This year, Kartik Purnima fell on Friday, November 15.

The festival coincides with the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartika and occurs fifteen days after Diwali.

Kartik month is referred to as Damodar month in the Vaishnava religion. One of the names of Lord Krishna is Damodar. Kartik Purnima is also celebrated as Dev Deepawali and marks the fifteenth lunar day of the Hindu month of Kartik.