PATNA: Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) candidate Prashant Kishor on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using the police against his supporters hours before polling began for the high-stakes Bankipur Assembly by-election.
Kishor alleged that police had detained 16 JSP workers and supporters, prompting him to visit the Jakkanpur police station late on Wednesday to seek an explanation.
"The BJP is using the police against JSP supporters, which reflects its fear of losing the Bankipur bypoll," he told reporters.
He claimed the station house officer (SHO) neither disclosed where the detained supporters were being held nor the grounds for their detention.
Alleging that the ruling BJP was behind the police action, Kishor said the move was aimed at keeping his supporters away from the polling process.
"The police can keep a person in custody for 24 hours without producing them before a magistrate. A plan has been devised to keep some of my supporters in custody until voting is over," he alleged, warning of action if any harm came to them.
Kishor, a former election strategist, is making his electoral debut in the bypoll. He is contesting against BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha and RJD's Rekha Gupta.
Polling is being held across 422 polling stations set up in 187 buildings, with around 3.79 lakh voters eligible to cast their ballots. Security has been tightened to ensure free and fair polling.