Sanjay Singh, Patna. Just before the Bankipur Assembly by-election, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has surprised everyone by changing its candidate. The party’s declared candidate Abhishek Kumar Sinha alias ‘Abhishek Bunty’ withdrew his name the very next day of nomination.
On Thursday, in the presence of CM Samrat Chaudhary and JDU National Working President Sanjay Jha, he filled the nomination form with a show of strength. Left the field on Friday citing family reasons. Soon after this BJP declared Neeraj Kumar Sinha as the new candidate. Due to this sudden change, the politics of Bihar has heated up.
Also read: Bankipur by-election: There was to be a contest with PK, BJP candidate withdrew his name.
Family reasons or some other reason?
The official reason given by BJP for withdrawal of nomination is family reasons. Abhishek Bunty also said that it is important to give time to the family. The discussion in political circles is something else. According to sources, the party feared that old cases related to Abhishek Bunty’s family could be made an issue in the elections.
There is talk that his parents’ names could have been linked to the fodder scam case. However, there has been no official confirmation of this. Neither BJP nor any agency has given this reason. It is believed that the party wanted to end any dispute before the elections.
Prashant Kishor’s entry increased tension?
This time the election of Bankipur is not normal. Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishore himself is contesting from this seat. He has been roaming in the area continuously for the last one month. They are going door to door asking questions on the functioning of the government. Political experts say that PK’s activism has made the competition difficult for BJP. In such a situation, the party did not want to take any risk. For this reason the candidate was immediately changed.
Now there is a possibility of a triangular contest here. There is a possibility of a close contest between Neeraj Sinha of BJP, Rekha Gupta of Rashtriya Janada Dal and Prashant Kishore of Jan Suraj. Prashant Kishor is loudly raising the issue of Bunty’s removal from the election field.
Also read: Lessons from the 2024 narrative! Has Nitin Naveen ended the factionalism of UP BJP?
The local organization was also angry
If sources are to be believed, the displeasure of local leaders is also the reason behind changing the tickets. Abhishek Bunty is considered close to former MLA Nitin Naveen. After getting the ticket, many old and potential contenders of the party became angry.
The biggest challenge for BJP was that the organization should fight unitedly in the elections. Keeping this in view, the new name was approved from Delhi. Bankipur seat is considered Kayastha dominated. BJP changed its candidate but the social equation did not change. New candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha also comes from Kayastha community. Neeraj Sinha has been a member of BJP since 2006. He has a good hold on the organization. The party hopes that they will tap into the traditional vote bank.
Delhi’s strategy, the last bet?
Political analysts say that the decision to change the candidate is not just of Patna but part of Delhi’s strategy. Bankipur is a prestige seat of BJP. The party has been winning continuously from here since 2005. This seat became vacant after the resignation of Nitin Naveen. The party did not want any controversy to become a hindrance in this victory. Therefore, a face with a safe and clean image was brought in at the last moment.
Voting will take place in Bankipur on July 30. The results will decide whether BJP’s last minute decision was right or not. At present there is only one discussion in every street of Bankipur, why did Bunty step down and will Neeraj Sinha be able to save the fort of BJP?
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