Bhopal / Patna / Ahmedabad6 minutes ago
Voting begins at 7 am on 30 July for by-elections to three Assembly seats in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. The bypolls are being held for Bankipur in Bihar, Datia in Madhya Pradesh and Manjalpur in Gujarat.
In Datia, the BJP has fielded Ashutosh Tiwari, replacing former Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra.
In Bihar, Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishor is contesting his first election from the Bankipur Assembly seat. However, his party failed to win any seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
Prashant Kishor held a roadshow in Patna, the capital of Bihar, on Tuesday.
Bankipur sees high-profile contest
The Bankipur contest has attracted significant attention. The main candidates are BJP Yuva Morcha leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha, Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishor, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Rekha Gupta.
The seat fell vacant after BJP’s five-time MLA and national president Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April.
Prashant Kishor has campaigned extensively across the constituency and described the election as a referendum on the NDA government’s performance. He has also criticised Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who became Chief Minister after Nitish Kumar’s departure.
Meanwhile, Nitin Nabin campaigned in Bankipur and assured voters that the constituency would remain a priority despite his new responsibilities.
On July 13, after Ashutosh Tiwari was announced as the BJP candidate for the by-election, Narottam Mishra became emotional on stage.
Datia witnesses tough BJP-Congress battle
In Madhya Pradesh’s Datia, BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari is contesting his first election, while Congress candidate Kunwar Ghanshyam Singh is contesting for the seventh time.
The seat became vacant after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was disqualified on 2 April following his conviction in a bank fraud case.
He was disqualified under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution.
Both parties have faced internal differences over candidate selection.
The BJP replaced former Home Minister Narottam Mishra with Ashutosh Tiwari, leading to protests by some party workers.
During protests in July, several workers were booked over allegations of attacking government officials, vandalism and violating the Model Code of Conduct. Narottam Mishra later appealed to his supporters to back Tiwari.
According to media reports, the Congress also witnessed differences over ticket distribution.
Rajendra Bharti reportedly wanted the ticket to go to a family member, while senior leader Avdhesh Nayak, who joined the Congress after leaving the BJP before the 2023 Assembly elections, also sought the nomination.
BJP and Congress face off in Manjalpur
The Manjalpur Assembly seat in Vadodara became vacant following the death of BJP MLA Yogesh Patel.
Patel had represented the constituency since 1990, winning the election eight times. He also served as the Assembly’s Pro-tem Speaker and was appointed Minister of State in 2022.
The BJP has fielded Satish Patel, while the Congress has nominated former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari.
Manjalpur is considered a traditional BJP stronghold, and the party is aiming to retain the seat.
However, reports of dissatisfaction among local leaders over the candidate prompted the BJP to deploy several senior leaders to campaign.
Union ministers, the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, state ministers, the BJP state president and other senior leaders met local party workers during the campaign.
