By-elections will not be held on 3 vacant seats of UP? Questions raised on the silence of the Election Commission

The Election Commission has announced the dates for by-elections on the vacant assembly seats of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, but no announcement has been made yet on the three vacant assembly seats of Uttar Pradesh. The politics of the state has heated up regarding this. Opposition parties including Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party are alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not want to hold by-elections due to fear of possible defeat. At the same time, due to no indication of any program from the Election Commission till now, political discussions have intensified.

The Election Commission has announced the schedule of voting on July 30 and counting of votes on August 3 for Bankipur in Bihar, Datia in Madhya Pradesh and Manjalpur assembly seat in Gujarat. Some of these seats had become vacant only in recent months, whereas many seats in Uttar Pradesh had become vacant six to seven months ago. Despite this, the election schedule has not been announced yet.

Three seats in UP have been vacant for months

Ghosi (Mau) assembly seat first fell vacant in Uttar Pradesh on 20 November 2025 after the death of Samajwadi Party MLA Sudhakar Singh. After this, BJP MLA from Faridpur (Bareilly) Prof. Both the seats also fell vacant after the demise of Shyam Bihari Lal and Samajwadi Party MLA from Duddhi (Sonbhadra) Vijay Singh Gond. The Assembly Secretariat has sent the information about these vacancies to the Election Commission long ago, but till now the notification for the by-election has not been issued.

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What does the law say?

According to the Representation of the People Act, if an assembly seat becomes vacant, by-election should be held within six months under normal circumstances. The only exception is when the remaining term of the Assembly is less than one year or in some special circumstances it is not possible to hold elections. The tenure of Uttar Pradesh Assembly is till May 2027. In such a situation, there does not appear to be any legal obstacle related to tenure in holding by-elections on these seats. This is the reason why questions are continuously being raised regarding postponement of elections.

Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party allege that BJP is finding its position weak on these seats. Therefore, the government and the ruling party are not in favor of holding by-elections. The opposition says that in a democratic system it is not appropriate to deprive the people of their representatives for a long time and the Election Commission should announce the election schedule soon.

Opposition parties also claim that if by-elections are held, the public will answer to BJP on issues like inflation, unemployment and law and order. However, there has been no official response from BJP on these allegations yet.

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Election Commission’s silence increased speculation

According to sources in the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, till now no formal instructions or program has been received from the Election Commission regarding the by-elections on the vacant seats of Uttar Pradesh. This silence of the Commission is giving rise to many speculations in political circles. Political experts believe that if the by-elections are postponed for more time, this issue can become a big political controversy before the 2027 assembly elections. The opposition is preparing to take it among the public by linking it to democratic rights, while all eyes are now on the next decision of the Election Commission.