BJP's Abhishek Kumar Sinha, RJD's Rekha Kumari file nominations for Bankipur bypoll; voting July 30, results August 3

BJP's Abhishek Kumar Sinha and RJD's Rekha Kumari filed their nomination papers for the Bankipur assembly bypoll here on Thursday. Bankipur is located in Bihar's Patna district. On July 30, the bypoll will take place, and on August 3, the ballots will be counted. Nominations must be submitted by July 13th. Before filing his nomination papers, Sinha offered prayers at the Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir in Krishnanagar and the Siddhidatri Jwala Temple. Sinha, a youth wing leader better known by his stage name Bunty, was selected by the BJP on Tuesday to run in the bypoll for the assembly seat, which became vacant after Nitin Nabin, the party's national president, resigned.

Rekha Kumari, the RJD candidate who ran from the seat and finished second in the 2025 assembly elections, also voiced optimism in winning. On Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor contesting the bypoll, Kumari said, "Each party is free to contest elections."The BJP has held the Bankipur seat for a number of periods. After taking over as the party's national president, Nabin won the seat five times in a row until leaving. His father, Naveen Kishore Prasad Sinha, held the position before him.

Prominent NDA heavyweights, such as JD(U) state president Umesh Kushwaha, LJP (RV) MP Shambhavi Choudhary, BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi, and senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, attended Sinha's nomination.