Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Abhishek Kumar Sinha on Friday withdrew his nomination from the Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar, citing family reasons.
Following Sinha's withdrawal, the BJP named Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its candidate for the Bankipur Assembly bypoll.
Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor is also in the fray for the Bankipur seat, while RJD has fielded Rekha Kumari in the bypoll from the seat which fell vacant following the resignation of BJP national president Nitin Nabin.
Reacting to the development, Kishor said it was the first time a BJP candidate had withdrawn from the race. “Until now, people would withdraw from the race because of the fear of the BJP. This is perhaps for the first time that a BJP candidate is running away from the race," Kishor told reporters in Bankpur.
“People have decided whom to defeat,” he said.
The saffron party had on Tuesday named the youth wing leader as its candidate for the bypoll to the assembly constituency in Bihar. Sinha had filed a nomination for the election on Thursday. However, addressing reporters in Patna on 10 July, Sinha said, “Due to family reasons, I am unable to contest the Assembly by-election. I will continue to serve faithfully as a party worker.”
Neeraj Kumar Sinha Vs Prashant Kishor
After being announced as the party's nominee, Neeraj Kumar Sinha thanked the party leadership and expressed confidence in winning the seat.
"I am overjoyed. I am deeply grateful to the top leadership, the state president, our leader Nitin Nabin ji, as well as Amit Shah ji and Narendra Modi ji. I am grateful to them all. I started as a booth mantri; I served as a mandal president twice and also worked as a district vice-president in the Yuva Morcha," he said.
Who is Neeraj Kumar Sinha?
Bihar BJP President Sanjay Saraogi later felicitated Neeraj Kumar Sinha after the party announced his candidature for the Bankipur Assembly bypoll.
Sinha has previously served as a booth president and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) district vice-president, the party said in the release. He has been associated with the BJP since 2006.
On July 2, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for bypolls to three Assembly Constituencies in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, which includes the high-profile seats of Bankipur, Datia, and Manjalpur.
In Bihar, the by-polls for the Bankipur Assembly Constituency were called following the resignation of Nitin Nabin. Polling for the assembly seats in Bihar will be held on 30 July, while the counting of votes is slated for 3 August (Monday).
The last date for filing nominations was set for 13 July (Monday), with scrutiny of the nomination papers scheduled for 14 July (Tuesday).
