The BJP on Friday fielded Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its candidate for the Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar after its original nominee, Abhishek Sinha, withdrew from the contest. The change comes ahead of the July 30 bypoll for the high-profile Patna constituency, setting the stage for a closely watched three-cornered contest involving the BJP, the Jan Suraaj Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar will be held on July 30, 2026, with votes to be counted on August 3. The bypoll was necessitated after BJP leader Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha. The contest is shaping up as a high-profile three-cornered fight between the BJP, the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Jan Suraaj Party founder and former election strategist Prashant Kishor is contesting the bypoll, while the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has fielded Rekha Gupta.
Bankipur, a key urban constituency in central Patna with around 4 lakh voters, is considered politically significant due to the strong influence of the Kayastha and Vaishya communities. The BJP and the Jan Suraaj Party have mounted an aggressive campaign, with Kishor portraying the bypoll as a crucial "referendum" on the performance of the ruling NDA government in Bihar.
Who is Neeraj Kumar Sinha?
Neeraj Kumar Sinha is s a 32-year-old BJP worker who has been associated with the party for several years despite being one of its younger faces. He has risen through the party ranks, serving in various organisational roles at the grassroots level.
During his political career, Sinha has held positions such as booth president, mandal general secretary and district president of the BJP Yuva Morcha. He has also served two terms as mandal president and was most recently the president of the Narendra Bharti Mandal in Bankipur.
Sinha comes from a family with longstanding ties to the BJP. His uncle, Narendra Bharti, was an active Jana Sangh worker and later associated with the BJP before his death in 1984. The Narendra Bharti Mandal is named in his honour, and Sinha has been leading the unit as its president.
In the July 30 Bankipur bypoll, Neeraj Kumar Sinha will face Jan Suraaj Party founder and former election strategist Prashant Kishor in one of Bihar's most closely watched electoral contests.
Also read: Rekha Kumari Gupta declared RJD's candidate for Bankipur byelection in Bihar
