Patna: With counting of votes for the Bankipur assembly bypoll scheduled for Aug 3, the three main contenders, Neeraj Kumar Sinha of the BJP, Prashant Kishor of Jan Suraaj and Rekha Gupta of the RJD, spent Sunday preparing for the verdict day. The result for the seat would be declared on Monday.While Jan Suraaj founder and candidate Prashant Kishor, popularly known as PK, held a news conference here and raised allegations of poll irregularities, RJD candidate Rekha Kumari Gupta appeared relaxed, extending Friendship Day greetings through her social media platforms. The BJP candidate’s social media handles remained largely inactive after polling concluded on July 30.Kishor sought to set the tone ahead of counting by claiming that the BJP would face a decisive defeat in Bankipur. He referred to the saffron party’s earlier assertion that it could win the seat even if it fielded “a cat or dog” as its candidate, and said the outcome would prove otherwise.The BJP, however, remained confident while acknowledging that the turnout was lower than the previous assembly election. “True, the polling percentage has been low at 34.5% compared to the 2025 election figure of around 41%, but our party’s candidate will win,” BJP state spokesperson and former MLA Prem Ranjan Patel said.Patel also admitted that some sections of the party’s traditional voters may not have turned out in the same numbers, but added that similar challenges were visible for the RJD. “It is also true that there has been some desertion from our voters, but this is also visible in the RJD camp. All said, we will win the byelection,” he said.Highlighting the BJP’s electoral history in Bankipur, Patel said the party had won the previous nine assembly elections from the seat, including the 2006 bypoll, and recalled that former industries minister Thakur Prasad had earlier won the seat on the Bharatiya Jana Sangh ticket.The RJD, meanwhile, is banking on what it describes as a shift in public sentiment. The party believes recent youth-led protests and dissatisfaction over govt policies could influence voters in its favour.“As we see it, the BJP is losing the seat, because the ‘janmat’ is not in its favour,” RJD state spokesman Chitranjan Gagan said.Despite projecting confidence, none of the three parties is leaving anything to chance ahead of counting. The candidates and their teams were engaged in finalising the list of counting agents who will be deployed at the 17 counting tables on Monday.Party functionaries said experienced workers are usually selected as counting agents after training, with candidates kept informed about the arrangements. “Normally, the proven and tested party functionaries are selected as counting agents. They are also given training. The candidates are kept in the loop and duly informed about it. They are also given the names of the counting agents,” Patel and Gagan said.As the candidates await the counting, the focus remains on whether Bankipur continues its long association with the BJP or witnesses a shift in political preference.
