NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate who was set to face Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor in Bihar’s Bankipur bypoll, withdrew from the contest on Friday, citing “family reasons”. The surprise twist forced the party to name a replacement just hours later.Abhishek Kumar Sinha, who had filed his nomination papers only a day earlier as the NDA nominee from the BJP stronghold, announced his withdrawal at a press conference. Soon after, the BJP named Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its new candidate for the July 30 by-election.“The BJP had made me the NDA candidate for the bypoll to the Bankipur assembly seat. I express my gratitude to the central and state leadership. However, due to family reasons, I am unable to contest the bypoll,” he said.Reading out a letter addressed to Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi, he added: “I have just handed a letter to state president, Sanjay Saraogi, which I am now reading out before you. The Bharatiya Janata Party had selected me as the NDA candidate for the by-election in the Bankipur Assembly constituency. I express my gratitude to the central and state leadership for this. I wish to humbly inform you that, due to family reasons, I am unable to contest the Assembly by-election. I will continue to serve faithfully as a party worker.”Soon after the withdrawal, the BJP announced Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its new candidate. In a statement, the party said the 32-year-old leader has previously served as a booth president and district vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).The by-election was necessitated after BJP national president Nitin Nabin resigned from the Bankipur assembly seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar earlier this year. Nabin, who became the BJP’s national working president in December 2025 before taking over as national president, has represented Bankipur multiple times. The constituency has long been considered a BJP stronghold, with his father, Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha, also enjoying significant political influence there.The bypoll will be held on July 30, while counting of votes is scheduled for August 3. The last date for filing nominations is July 13.The contest has gained additional political significance after Jan Suraaj announced that its founder, Prashant Kishor, would contest the seat, marking his electoral debut.Addressing a public meeting in Sheohar earlier, Kishor said he had deliberately chosen to contest from a BJP bastion instead of a politically safe constituency.“… When people start their electoral politics, they look for safe seats for themselves… I am doing the opposite because I am telling the people of Bihar that if Bihar is to change, they must vote beyond caste and religion. They must stop voting out of fear of Lalu for BJP, or fear of BJP for Lalu. To prove the point I am explaining to the people of Bihar, I am contesting from a place where votes should not be sought in the name of caste or religion...”

He also claimed that Jan Suraaj intended to challenge the BJP’s long-standing dominance in the constituency, “This time Jan Suraaj intends to enter the BJP’s fortress and defeat them.”“For the past four to five decades, a single political family associated with the BJP had dominated Bankipur politics, while parties such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress had repeatedly failed to unseat them”, the Jan Suraaj supremo said, adding, “My party alone will offer a genuine and direct contest in the constituency.”The by-election will also see a contest involving the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which has fielded Rekha Kumari alias Rekha Gupta.Before Abhishek Kumar Sinha’s withdrawal, NDA leaders had projected a united front for the by-election. Janata Dal (United) National working president Sanjay Jha had said there was no ambiguity within the alliance over the BJP’s candidature and that all NDA constituents would campaign together.