Polling began at 7 am across 422 polling stations and is scheduled to continue until 6 pm.
“The polling has so far been peaceful. The voter turnout till 9 am was 4.61 per cent,” an official said.
Also Read: Bankipur bypoll: Prashant Kishor accuses Bihar Police of detaining supporters at BJP’s behest
A total of 26 candidates are contesting the by-election, including Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who is making his electoral debut.
Kishor, 49, a former political strategist, has entered the fray against the BJP’s Neeraj Kumar Sinha, a youth wing leader. The BJP has held the seat continuously since 1995, when the constituency was known as Patna West.
Kishor’s candidature has added a new dimension to the contest in a constituency that has traditionally been a BJP stronghold.The bypoll was necessitated after BJP leader Nitin Nabin vacated the seat in April following his election to the Rajya Sabha. Nabin had retained the constituency for a fifth consecutive term in the November assembly elections, defeating RJD candidate Rekha Gupta—who is once again in the race, by a margin of more than 50,000 votes.
Among the prominent voters who cast their ballots before 9 am were senior BJP leader CP Thakur, Nawada MP Vivek Thakur, and Bihar minister Ramkripal Yadav.
Nabin urged voters to participate enthusiastically in the democratic process.
“I appeal to all the voters of the Bankipur (Bihar), Manjalpur (Gujarat) and Datia (Madhya Pradesh) assembly constituencies, especially the youth and women, to come out in large numbers to cast their votes and make their invaluable contribution toward strengthening the resolve of a Vikashit Bharat,” he wrote in a post on X.
BJP’s Bihar unit president Sanjay Saraogi also appealed to voters to turn out early and exercise their franchise, saying it would contribute to Bankipur’s development.
Meanwhile, Prashant Kishor alleged that Bihar Police had detained several of his supporters at the behest of the ruling BJP, claiming the party was “fears losing the bypoll” in the Bankipur constituency.
(With PTI inputs)
