In a sudden turn of events, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Abhishek Kumar Sinha on Friday withdrew his candidature from the byelections to the Bankipur assembly constituency in Bihar, citing family reasons. However, he said he would continue serving the BJP as a party worker.
The development comes only a day after Sinha filed his nomination for the byelection in Bankipur, which is located in the Patna district. However, just moments of his withdrawal, the BJP declared Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its candidate.
Briefing the reporters at a press conference in Bihar's capital city Patna, Sinha said he has informed about his decision to BJP's state unit president Sanjay Saraogi about his decision to withdraw from the byelection race. He, however, thanked the party leadership for providing him with this opportunity.
"The Bharatiya Janata Party had selected me as the NDA candidate for the by-election in the Bankipur Assembly constituency. I express my gratitude to the central and state leadership for this. I wish to humbly inform you that, due to family reasons, I am unable to contest the Assembly by-election. I will continue to serve faithfully as a party worker," Sinha was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
The withdrawal by Sinha, a youth wing leader who is popularly known as Bunty, is a setback for the saffron party, as the Bankipur seat belonged to BJP national president Nitin Nabin. The byelection was necessitated after Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha, though.
The BJP would now need to declare its candidate by July 13, which is the last date for filing nominations. According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the scrutiny of the nomination papers will take place on July 14. The polling, on the other hand, will take place on July 30 and the results will be declared on August 4.
Sinha's move will also provide the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj to corner the BJP. Notably, the RJD has fielded Rekha Kumari, while Kishor himself is contesting the Bankipur byelection. Both Kumari and Kishor are confident of winning the byelection, but the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is hoping to retain the seat.
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