The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for the by-election to Bihar’s politically significant Bankipur Assembly constituency, setting the stage for a high-stakes contest in one of the BJP’s strongest bastions. Polling will be held on 30 July, while vote counting and result declaration are scheduled for 3 August.
The seat fell vacant after Nitin Nabin resigned as an MLA following his appointment as the National President of the BJP.
Candidates can file their nomination papers from 6-13 July. Scrutiny of nominations will be conducted on 14 July while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is 16 July.
Now that the election schedule is announced, political activity is expected to intensify as major parties step up preparations for the contest.
The Jan Suraaj Party has already accelerated its campaign for the by-election, aiming to wrest the seat from the BJP. Its founder Prashant Kishor is likely to contest from the Bankipur constituency. The party is expected to hold an important core group meeting on Friday, during which it is likely to take a final call on its candidate for the seat.
On Thursday, Prashant Kishor said Jan Suraaj would contest the Bankipur by-election with full strength. He asserted that the contest would not be easy for the BJP and claimed his party would defeat the BJP in its traditional stronghold.
The by-election is being viewed as a prestige battle for Nitin Nabin.
Bankipur has remained a BJP bastion for more than three decades. When the constituency was known as Patna West, Naveen Kishore Prasad Sinha won the seat in 1995 and went on to represent it four times. Following his death, his son, Nitin Nabin, won the 2006 by-election and has retained the seat in four successive Assembly elections since then.