Voting Underway in Bihar's Bankipur By-Election Amidst Tight Security

Polling Commences in Bankipur

Patna, July 30 - Voting for the Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar began at 7 AM on Thursday, with stringent security measures in place, as reported by officials. Approximately 380,000 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to determine the fate of 26 candidates, including Prashant Kishor, the founder of the Jan Suraj Party.

Kishor is making his debut in electoral politics through this election. A senior official from the state's Chief Electoral Officer's office indicated that polling will continue until 6 PM, with the counting of votes scheduled for August 3.

The entry of Kishor, a former electoral strategist who established the Jan Suraj Party a few years ago, has made the contest for this seat particularly intriguing. This constituency has long been a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was vacated by its national president Nitin Nabin after being elected to the Rajya Sabha in April.

Nabin had won this assembly seat for the fifth consecutive time last November, defeating his closest rival Rekha Gupta of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) by over 50,000 votes. The BJP has nominated its youth wing leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its candidate. The party has not lost this seat since 1995.

Previously known as Patna West, all 422 polling stations in this constituency are located in urban areas, according to the Election Commission's data. On Thursday, Kishor alleged that the Bihar police detained several of his supporters at the behest of the ruling BJP.

He claimed that the BJP fears losing the Bankipur by-election. Speaking to reporters outside the Jakkanpur police station in Patna, he stated, 'I have been here for several hours, and the police cannot explain where my 16 or more detained supporters are.' He added, 'I am not calling it an arrest since there is no record of which individual has been named in which case. I had learned that they were held at Jakkanpur police station, but I was informed that they were taken to different stations.'

The officer in charge of the station even claimed that the station had no role in the detentions, stating it was done under the orders of senior officials. However, the police have yet to respond to Kishor's allegations. The Jan Suraj Party founder asserted, 'It is clear that the ruling BJP is behind the detention of these individuals.' He further stated, 'The BJP knows it is likely to lose the by-election. The police can hold someone in custody for up to 24 hours without presenting them before a magistrate.'

He concluded, 'Thus, there seems to be a plan to keep some of my supporters in custody until the voting concludes.'