PATNA, July 3 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday announced the schedule for by-elections for three seats, including the high-profile Bankipur assembly seat in Patna, on July 30. The counting will take place on August 3. The Bankipur seat had fallen vacant after the election of BJP national president Nitin Nabin to the Rajya Sabha. Nabin represented the seat five times. With the announcement of election, the model code of conduct has come into force with immediate effect in the district comprising the assembly seat going to by-election. As per the notification, after the gazette notification on July 6, the last date for making nomination is July 13, the scrutiny of nominations will happen on July 14 and the last date for the withdrawal of candidature in July 16. The Bankipur seat is considered a bastion of the BJP and the election is crucial, as it is the home turf of BJP president and the election will be the first electoral test for Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary since assuming charge. However, both the RJD and the Jan Suraaj Party are trying to make a match of it. Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor is himself tipped to contest the election and has already launched a door-to-door campaign. "If people want, I can also contest the seat," said Kishor in a recent statement. After election announcement, Kishor said that the election "will be a referendum on backdoor entry of Samrat Choudhary as CM". "We are already working to defeat BJP and expose its policies. In a day or two, the name of the party candidate will be announced," he added. Jan Suraaj Party state president Manoj Bharti said the candidate would be declared on July 5. "We reiterate that the Jan Suraaj Party will contest the Bankipur bypoll. Many people want Prashant Kishor himself to be the candidate. Deliberations are underway, and the candidate will be formally announced on July 5," he said. BJP leaders expressed confidence that the party would retain the seat, which it has held continuously since the 1990s. Party sources described the announcement of its candidate as "a mere formality" and took a swipe at Kishor, recalling that he had earlier spoken of contesting against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav from Raghopur but did not eventually enter the fray. The opposition INDIA bloc is yet to announce its candidate for the bypoll. It remains unclear whether the RJD, which contested the seat in 2020, the Congress, or one of their Left allies will field a nominee against the NDA. For the RJD it will be a chance to redeem itself after the drubbing in the 2025 Assembly election and there are speculations that the party may field a new candidate keeping in mind the caste arithmetic of the seat, where Kayasth community forms the single largest voting bloc, but also has substantial presence of other upper castes (such as Bhumihars, Rajputs, and Brahmins), Muslim voters, and Luv-Kush (Kurmi and Kushwaha) communities "This is an acid test for the BJP. It remains to be seen whether any kin of Nabin fights election or any party worker gets the opportunity. RJD will field a good candidate after wider consultations and contest on the ideologies of Lalu Prasad. Despite being represented by the BJP president, Bankipore has remained untouched by development," said RJD spokesman Ejaz Ahmad. Meanwhile, Tej Pratap Yadav, who recently floated the Janshakti Janata Dal after being expelled from the RJD by his father Lalu Prasad, announced social activist Veena Manvi as his party's candidate for the bypoll....