Lucknow, Feb. 8 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the Milkipur by-election, defeating the Samajwadi Party (SP) in what had become a high-stakes battle of prestige, media reports said.

When results were declared on Saturday, BJP candidate Chandrabhan Paswan secured a decisive win over SP's Ajit Prasad by more than 60,000 votes after 30 rounds of counting.

Calling the result a preview of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said SP is set to lose big in the future and Mikipur result is just an indication of that, according to the report.

The Milkipur bypoll, an assembly segment within the Faizabad constituency, became a crucial contest for the saffron party to recla...