NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday handed an early edge to its opponents in the upcoming Bankipur Assembly bypoll after its candidate, Abhishek Kumar Sinha, pulled out of the contest, citing “family reasons.”The move gave fresh ammunition to the opposition, which claimed that the saffron party was “jittery at the prospect of a defeat” in the seat vacated by BJP national president Nitin Nabin.”Because of family reasons, I am unable to contest the bypoll. But I will continue to work for the party as a committed worker. I have conveyed the same to state president Sanjay Saraogi,” Sinha said while addressing a press conference, where he took no questions.Minutes later, the BJP national headquarters in New Delhi announced that the party’s central election committee had decided to field 32-year-old Neeraj Kumar Sinha.Why Abhishek Kumar Sinha backed outReportedly, Abhishek Kumar Sinha’s announcement came shortly after a meeting of the BJP-led NDA held at chief minister Samrat Choudhary’s residence.”Negative inputs” about the candidate may have been the reason behind the decision, news agency PTI reported, citing sources. BJP sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that a close family member of Abhishek Kumar Sinha was convicted in the fodder scam, and the party was wary that Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor could put it on the back foot once he got wind of the “tainted background”.The upcoming bypoll in the Bankipur constituency is expected to be a high-voltage contest, with Kishor also throwing his hat into the ring.PK, who is expected to file his nomination papers on Monday has been campaigning intensively, calling upon voters to register their dissatisfaction with the BJP by defeating the party in the bypoll.”I know that even if I win, the NDA, which enjoys a brute majority, will not lose power. But the people had voted for (JDU president) Nitish Kumar. They can make the BJP top brass understand their displeasure by defeating it in Bankipur. I promise that just one MLA of the Jan Suraaj Party will outweigh the remaining 242 ones,” has been a common refrain of Kishor.When Kishor was asked about the perception, he said: “I do not know about the NDA meeting. But Bankipur is witnessing a meeting of the people who are determined to vote against the Samrat Choudhary government. I shall not brag that the BJP is scared of me. But they are certainly scared of the public anger. They have begun to realise that before the will of the people, the ED, CBI and the entire power machinery is powerless.””So, it is an admission on the part of the BJP that it fields corrupt people. All the more reason for the people not to vote for the party,” Kishor said.RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav claimed that Abhishek Kumar Sinha “has not withdrawn his candidature of his own accord, but was forced to pull out at the instance of the BJP high command”.Congress spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari, whose party is an RJD ally, said in a statement: “Nitin Nabin had given the ticket to one of his close associates, believing that as national president he was in a position to call the shots. But he got tattled upon by his detractors and received a dressing down from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.”The Bankipur bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of Nitin Nabin. Polling will be held on July 30, while the counting of votes is scheduled for August 3.
