BJP Replaces Bankipur Candidate After Father's Conviction in Fodder Scam Becomes Campaign Issue
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has changed its candidate for the upcoming Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar, just a day after the original candidate filed his nomination. The party named Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its candidate on Friday, replacing Abhishek Bunty. Sinha will now contest against Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor in the constituency, which has been a traditional BJP stronghold.
Abhishek Bunty had filed his nomination on Thursday with significant fanfare, accompanied by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and other top National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders. However, on Friday, Bunty wrote to state BJP president Sanjay Saraogi, citing personal reasons for his inability to contest. He later reiterated this reason at a press conference, during which he appeared emotional.
The sudden change has raised questions, with sources indicating that the BJP leadership acted preemptively due to potential political liabilities. Bunty's father, Ravindra Prasad, was convicted in the fodder scam case alongside former Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. In 2022, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court convicted 75 people, including Lalu Yadav, in the case. Ravindra Prasad, who was the manager of Magadh Chemical Corporation at the time of the scam, received a three-year prison sentence.
The CBI had filed three chargesheets in the case between 2001 and 2003. After examining 575 witnesses and 4,200 documents, the agency named Ravindra Prasad as an accused in the Rs 139 crore scam. Senior BJP leaders said they recently became aware of these charges and decided to change the candidate to avoid potential electoral damage.
According to sources, Prashant Kishor had obtained all documents related to the case and was planning to make it a major election issue. The BJP, in a preemptive move, replaced Bunty with Neeraj Sinha, a young party worker. The Bankipur bypoll was necessitated after sitting BJP MLA Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha. The party has held the seat since 1995, when Nabin's father, Navin Kishore Sinha, won the constituency, then known as Patna West. Despite the party's historical dominance, a high-voltage contest is expected with Kishor in the fray.
