The nomination papers of Janshakti Janta Dal (JJD) candidate Veena Mandavi for the Bankipur Assembly by-election have been rejected on technical grounds after she reportedly failed to carry the mandatory signatures of 10 proposers, marking a setback to the newly floated Tej Pratap Yadav Party.
The returning official rejected Mandavi’s nomination on Tuesday after scrutiny because the papers did not contain the required number of signatures of proposers, the officials said, according to the news agency. PTI.
Read also | “Family Honor” or a fodder scam? Why did the BJP change its candidate against Prashant Kishor in the Bankipur poll in Bihar
Tej Pratap calls it a ‘conspiracy’
Mandavi was arrested soon after filing her nomination papers on Monday and was later released on bail. Officials said she was wanted in a forgery case.
RJD chief Tej Pratap Yadav described the rejection of his party’s candidate nomination as a conspiracy.
“It is a conspiracy by the government against the RJD and its candidate. Our party’s nomination for the Bankipur assembly elections has been deliberately rejected,” Yadav, a former Bihar minister, said on Tuesday.
After learning about the rejection, Yadav, son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, rushed to the Patna complex and met the returning officer to get an explanation.
“Our party will challenge this decision in court. Injustice has been done to our candidate… She will get justice through legal process,” Yadav said.
Read also | ‘BJP is afraid of Prashant Kishor’: Jan Suraj after Abhishek Kumar Sinha withdraws from nomination
High political drama in Bankipur by poll
The Bankipur poll has already witnessed high political drama.
The BJP had initially fielded Abhishek Kumar Sinha as its candidate, but he withdrew from the contest soon after filing his nomination papers, citing personal reasons. The party later replaced him with Neeraj Kumar Sinha, HT reported earlier
Although Bankipur has long been considered a BJP stronghold, the contest has attracted additional attention with Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishor making his election debut from the seat.
Kishor filed his nomination on the last day of filing and claimed that Abhishek Sinha’s withdrawal reflected that voters were rising above caste and religion after feeling “cheated” in the previous elections.
The RJD has fielded Rekha Devi for the by-elections.
Polling for the Bankipur Assembly by-election is scheduled to take place on July 30, while the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on August 3.
The seat fell vacant after BJP MLA Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha after he was appointed as the national president of the BJP.
Nabin had represented Bankipur for five consecutive terms, making it one of the BJP’s strongest constituencies in Bihar.
