PATNA: The Jan Suraaj Party on Sunday declared its founder Prashant Kishor as its candidate for the July 30 Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar, ending days of speculation over PK’s electoral debut.The announcement was made a day ahead of the last date for filing nominations, marking a significant political move by the fledgling party in a constituency considered a traditional BJP stronghold.The bypoll to the Bankipur seat was necessitated after BJP national president Nitin Nabin resigned as the MLA following his election to the Rajya Sabha, news agency PTI reported.As per the Election Commission’s schedule, polling will be held on July 30, and votes will be counted on August 3.Kishor, who launched the Jan Suraaj Party less than two years ago after a statewide padyatra, has previously indicated that he was open to contesting the by-election, describing it as a “referendum” on the Samrat Choudhary-led NDA government in Bihar.Over the past few weeks, he has been actively campaigning in Patna, appealing to voters to give his party an opportunity and arguing that even a single seat could help amplify people-centric issues in the Assembly, PTI reported.Earlier, the party had said it would announce its candidate on July 5, while keeping Kishor’s candidature under wraps.Party leaders maintained that there was strong demand from supporters for Kishor himself to enter the fray.The BJP, which has held the Bankipur seat continuously since the 1990s, has expressed confidence that it will retain the constituency.(With agency inputs)
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