Former BJP MLA Baba Gorakhnath on Wednesday moved the Allahabad High Court to withdraw his petition challenging the election of Samajwadi Party leader Awadhesh Prasad from the Milkipur assembly constituency in the 2022 polls.

The Milkipur seat has fallen vacant following Prasad’s election to Lok Sabha.

The Election Commission on Tuesday announced bypolls to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh but left out Milkipur due to proceedings in the matter before the Lucknow bench of the court.

“I have moved the request for the withdrawal of litigation. The court will hear my plea on Thursday,” Gorakhnath said.

He said he is withdrawing the plea “to pave the way for the  by-election in the Milkipur assembly constituency, which had been impeded by the ongoing litigation.”

The plea had alleged that Awadhesh Prasad had taken an erroneous oath during the submission of his nomination papers. The writ alleged that the notary who authenticated Prasad’s documents did not possess a valid licence on the date of attestation. According to Supreme Court directives, it is imperative for the notary’s advocate to hold a current license on the day of document authentication.

Prasad, who was elected to Faizabad Lok Sabha in the recent general elections, said, “I vacated the Milkipur seat almost four months ago. It was Gorakhnath’s moral duty to withdraw the litigation and he should have withdrawn his litigation soon after my resignation.”

SP has named Ajit Parades, the son of Awadesh Prasad, as its candidate for the Milkipur assembly seat.