Patna (Bihar) [India], July 5 (ANI): Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who was named as the candidate for the Bankipur assembly by-election, on Sunday termed the development as a beginning of “new kind of politics” in Bihar.
Bankipur is considered a strong bastion of the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the party’s national president Nitin Nabin himself representing the constituency from 2010. Kishor denied such thoughts, stressing that it is the “stronghold” of Bihar’s people.
“We view this as the beginning of a new kind of politics in Bihar… It is not anyone’s stronghold; it is the stronghold of the people of Bihar… Things will certainly change… People should vote for the best candidate, the one who represents the start of this new politics,” Kishor told reporters.
The Jan Suraaj founder further denied contesting the by-elections in alliance, asserting that his party is not merely participating in elections to win seats, but to start a new political movement.
“We are not merely fighting for assembly seats, but for initiating a new political movement. As we contest the election, the voters of Bihar face the responsibility of ushering in a fresh beginning for the state… We are contesting alone (without having a coalition with any other party). However, I welcome support from anyone who feels they should help,” he added.
Bankipur assembly constituency was declared vacant after Nitin Nabin was elected to Rajya Sabha from Bihar.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday 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.
According to an official press release issued by the Election Commission, the poll body has decided to hold by-polls to fill the vacancies in the constituencies.
In Madhya Pradesh, the vacancy in the 22-Datia Assembly Constituency arose due to the disqualification of Rajendra Bharti.
Meanwhile, in Gujarat, the poll for the 145-Manjalpur Assembly Constituency will be held to fill the seat left vacant following the unfortunate demise of the sitting MLA, Yogeshbhai Narandas Patel.
As per the official schedule released by the poll body, the Gazette Notification for the bye-elections will be issued on July 6 (Monday), marking the commencement of the nomination process.
The last date for filing nominations has been fixed as July 13 (Monday), with the scrutiny of the nomination papers scheduled to take place on July 14 (Tuesday).
Candidates will have until July 16 (Thursday) to withdraw their candidatures. The polling for the three assembly seats in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat will be conducted on July 30 (Thursday), while the counting of votes is slated for August 3 (Monday).
The Election Commission further stated that the entire election process shall be completed by August 4 (Tuesday).
The Commission has decided to use EVMs and VVPATs in the by-election in all the polling stations. Adequate numbers of EVMs and VVPATs have been made available, and all steps have been taken to ensure that the poll is conducted smoothly with the help of these machines. (ANI)
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