look news india
At present, the biggest earthquake in the politics of Bihar has come on the high-profile Bankipur assembly seat of Patna. While on one hand BJP has been considering this area as its impenetrable fort, on the other hand after Jan Suraj Party entered the electoral fray and Prashant Kishore (PK) himself won the election from here, the whole situation seems to be turning upside down.
With the announcement of election dates, political atmosphere is at its peak in the streets of Bankipur. Prashant Kishor’s supporters have already raised the slogan, claiming a one-sided atmosphere, that ‘this time the victory will be by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes.’ Whether this claim is just an election slogan or the ground reality, it has definitely given sleepless nights to both the BJP and RJD camps.
Prashant Kishor’s ‘first election’ and preparations to break into BJP’s fort
Election strategist turned leader Prashant Kishor himself is in front of the public as a candidate in an election for the first time. By-election is being held on Bankipur seat because senior BJP leader Nitin Naveen, who has won from here for 5 consecutive times, has been made active in Delhi politics by sending him to Rajya Sabha.
BJP has fielded young face Abhishek Kumar to save this seat, while Rekha Gupta is challenging from RJD’s side. But the direct entry of Prashant Kishore has made this traditional contest triangular and very interesting. PK’s supporters say that the people of Bankipur are now tired of the old politics of caste and religion and this time they will break records and vote for change.
Bankipur by-election: ‘Litmus test’ for Nitish-Samrat government
Prashant Kishor has termed this election as not just a contest for one assembly seat, but a ‘referendum’ on the functioning of the present NDA government of Bihar. This by-election has become a battle of credibility for the government led by Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary.
Political analysts believe that since Bankipur is considered to be the most educated and urban area of Patna, the voters here have been voting irrespective of caste equations. This is the reason why while BJP is claiming victory on the basis of its old development works and projects like Metro, Jan Suraj Party is trying to make a place in the hearts of the voters directly on the issues of education, employment and system change.
Will the opposition’s vote bank disintegrate in a triangular contest?
The electoral history of Bankipur is witness to the fact that here BJP has always got around 60% outright votes, while the opposition is stuck in the mix of 30%. This time RJD’s Rekha Gupta and Janashakti Janata Dal’s Veena Manvi are also in the fray. In such a situation, the biggest question is whether Prashant Kishor will be able to make a dent in BJP’s traditional urban vote bank (especially Kayastha and Vaishya voters), or will the fragmentation of opposition votes once again make the path easier for BJP?
At present, how this big claim of the supporters of ‘victory by 1 lakh votes’ translates on the ground will become clear only with the results on 3rd August.