On Monday, counting of votes for the Bankipur Assembly by-election is underway at AN College in Patna, with Prashant Kishor, Jan Suraaj Party candidate, establishing an early lead. The bypoll, held on July 30, saw a voter turnout of 34.30 per cent. The contest has become a closely watched three-way fight between BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, RJD candidate Rekha Gupta, and Prashant Kishor. As of the first round of counting, Prashant Kishor has 2,225 votes, 862 votes ahead of his nearest rival, Neeraj Kumar Sinha, who has 1,363 votes. RJD’s Rekha Kumari is in third place with 505 votes, followed by Tanveer Alam of the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party with 203 votes. The counting process, which began at 8 a.m., is still ongoing, with postal ballots counted first, followed by votes from Electronic Voting Machines. More than 300 security personnel have been deployed, and drone surveillance is in place to monitor the area. RJD National Working President Tejashwi Yadav visited the Harihar Nath Temple, offering prayers and expressing hope for the people’s happiness and prosperity. The election was necessitated by the resignation of BJP leader Nitin Nabin, who became the BJP’s national president and a Rajya Sabha member.
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📰 Source: Mangalorean News