Patna: The NDA functionaries, including Union minister Chirag Paswan, addressed two election meetings while RJD national working president Tejashwi Prasad Yadav conducted a roadshow as campaigning for the July 30 Bankipur assembly byelection concluded on Tuesday.Chirag said there is no confusion about the NDA’s win. “It’s only a matter of time to see how big the victory margin is this time,” he added.Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, also in the fray for the first time, held mohalla meetings and set the stage for a triangular contest in the constituency considered a BJP stronghold since 1995.There was a tense moment for the administration when the roadshows of Bhojpuri singer-actor Pawan Singh and local MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, campaigning for BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, and Tejashwi batting for his party’s Rekha Gupta, crossed each other near New Police Lines in Lodipur area. BJP workers tossed their pamphlets at Tejashwi’s convoy. Both sides raised slogans against each other, but Prasad and Tejashwi exchanged greetings.The BJP and Kishor have very high stakes in this byelection since the seat was vacated by BJP national president Nitin Nabin after his election to the Rajya Sabha. Since Kishor is contesting his first election and has called it a referendum on Samrat Choudhary as the CM, the result will be very crucial for his political journey and Jan Suraaj’s fate in Bihar.The stakes are so high that former CM Nitish Kumar, in a video message shared by NDA functionaries on their social media handles, appealed to voters to vote for NDA candidate. However, Kishor alleged that it was a doctored message and claimed that Nitish did not make any such appeal. “They are misleading the public by creating a fake video showing Nitish out of fear. If the BJP proves the authenticity of this video, Jan Suraaj will withdraw from the Bankipur byelection,” he claimed.Nitish’s son Nishant has also released a video message appealing in favour of the NDA candidate. Nitin, who held a roadshow on Monday with top NDA leaders, including CM, appealed to the voters for the BJP candidate’s win. “I am fully confident that the same affection and trust the people of Bankipur have extended to me as a family member will now be bestowed upon Neeraj Kumar Sinha, and that he will carry forward this ongoing journey of public service and development with utmost dedication,” he said in a video message released on Tuesday.Meanwhile, Tejashwi played the student unrest card and warned officials for allegedly favouring the ruling side in the election. However, senior RJD functionary Shivanand Tiwari said the fight is between the BJP and Prashant Kishor.
