PATNA, July 13 -- BJP-led NDA candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha alias Bharti will file his nomination for the Bankipur assembly by-election on Monday (today), the last day for filing nominations, said a press release issued by the BJP on Sunday. According to the itinerary released by the party, Sinha is expected to leave the state party head office and travel through Dak Bungalow crossing, SP Verma Road, Youth Hostel, Biscomaun, DM's residence, and Kargil Chowk before reaching the Patna collectorate to file his nomination. Ahead of the nomination, Sinha intensified his campaign by conducting a public outreach programme across various wards and localities in the constituency. He also met former chief minister Nitish Kumar, former Union minister Dr CP Thakur, Patna Sahib MP Ravi Shankar Prasad, and former MLA Prem Ranjan Patel to seek their blessings for the election, said Navneet Kumar, media incharge of the Patna Mahanagar BJP. As part of his campaign, the BJP candidate also interacted with several municipal councillors from the Bankipur assembly constituency and sought their support. NDA leaders and workers expressed confidence in Sinha's prospects in the upcoming bypoll. The BJP central office in New Delhi had on July 10 named Sinha's candidature for the Bankipur assembly by-election in less than an hour after its previous candidate Abhishek Kumar Sinha, withdrew his candidature, citing "family reasons". Abhishek's decision to withdraw from the contest came within 30 hours of having filed his nomination on July 9, and in 72 hours of the party naming him as its candidate for the Bankipur seat on July 7. Social media reports, quoting family sources, indicated Abhishek withdrew to protect his parents' image as the CBI had allegedly accused them in the fodder scam, and his political rivals planned to use this as ammunition against him. Bankipur, formerly known as Patna West before the 2008 delimitation, has remained a BJP bastion for more than three decades. The late Naveen Kishore Prasad Sinha, father of BJP national president Nitin Nabin, first won from the constituency in 1995. Following his death in 2005, Nabin won the 2006 by-election and retained the seat for nearly two decades. The Bankpur assembly bypoll was necessitated by Nabin's resignation after his elevation to the Rajya Sabha and is considered prestigious for the BJP. The election will be held on July 30 and the bypoll result will be declared on August 3....