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Prashant Kishor to Contest Bankipur Bypoll

Jan Suraaj Party's state president Manoj Bharti on Sunday announced that its founder Prashant Kishor will contest the July 30 by-election from the Bankipur Assembly constituency in Bihar.

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The seat, traditionally a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stronghold and was vacated by BJP national president Nitin Nabin after he was elected to the Rajya Sabha, necessitating the bypoll. With Prashant Kishor entering the fray, the contest is expected to be closely watched as a direct political battle between the BJP and Jan Suraaj.

Bypolls in Other States

The by-election to the 182-Bankipur Assembly constituency was necessitated following the resignation of Nitin Nabin. 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 is being held to fill the seat left vacant following the unfortunate demise of the sitting MLA, Yogeshbhai Narandas Patel.

By-election Schedule

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).

Use of EVMs and VVPATs

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.