PATNA: Amid trading of charges between the ruling BJP and Jan Suraaj Party founder and party candidate Prashant Kishor, the polling for high-stakes Bankipur by-election in Bihar passed off peacefully on Thursday, even as the voter turnout was recorded low at 34.30%.
The BJP has fielded youth wing leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha and RJD re-nominated Rekha Gupta for the bypoll, which was necessitated after BJP president Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Nabin had held roadshows in the constituency, urging voters to give the BJP a big win.
In the 2025 assembly election, the BJP secured 63% of votes with RJD finishing a distant second. The entry of Kishor made the contest intense, although the BJP has been winning the seat since 1995.
According to EC data, in the 2025 assembly polls, the voter turnout in Bankipur was 40.97%. In 2020, the seat recorded a polling of 35.92%, while it was 40.25% in 2015.
Hours before the voting started, a high-voltage drama was witnessed at Jakkanpur police station in Patna where Kishor accused police of detaining 16 of his supporters allegedly at the behest of the BJP. A video showing heated arguments between the SHO and Kishor went viral on social media.
State BJP general secretary Nitin Abhishek wrote to the returning officer, claiming that JSP workers were attempting to cast fake votes.
Datia bypoll in MP records 71.44% voting
The by-election to Datia assembly seat in MP reported 71.44% polling, 9% lower than the 80.2% voting recorded in the 2023 elections, when Congress’s Rajendra Bharti had defeated state’s home minister Narottam Mishra. The seat is witnessing a three-cornered contest between the Congress, ruling BJP and the Azad Samaj Party (KR).