New Delhi, 30 July (H.S.): Polling began at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday for Assembly by-elections in three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states—Gujarat, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Voting is underway for the Bankipur Assembly constituency in Bihar, the Datia Assembly constituency in Madhya Pradesh, and the Manjalpur Assembly constituency in Gujarat. The results for all three bypolls will be declared on August 3.

The Bankipur seat fell vacant after BJP National President Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April. The constituency is regarded as a traditional stronghold of the BJP.

The Datia seat became vacant after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was convicted in a criminal case, leading to the termination of his Assembly membership in April.

The by-election in Manjalpur is being held following the death of eight-time BJP MLA and former minister Yogesh Patel, who passed away on June 2 after a prolonged illness. Since its creation following the 2008 delimitation, the Manjalpur Assembly constituency has remained a BJP bastion.

In Datia, the main contest is between BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari and Congress nominee Ghanshyam Singh. In Bankipur, the BJP has fielded Neeraj Kumar Sinha, while Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Rekha Gupta are also in the fray.

In Manjalpur, the BJP has nominated Satish Patel, while the Congress has fielded Bhikhabhai Rabari.

The Election Commission has deployed Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) systems at all polling stations to ensure smooth and transparent voting.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar