PATNA, July 27 -- Battery-operated 'totos' blaring campaign songs and slogans, a handful of corner meetings, padyatras and door-to-door canvassing offer the only visible signs of electioneering in Bankipur, where an otherwise subdued electorate appears largely indifferent ahead of the July 30 assembly by-election. With just four days left for polling, the bypoll has generated little public excitement among the constituency's 379,616 voters. The muted response largely stems from the perception that the outcome will not alter Bihar's political equation, where the ruling five-party National Democratic Alliance (NDA) enjoys a comfortable majority with 202 of the 243 Assembly seats won in the November 2025 elections. The opposition Mahagathbandhan holds 35 seats, while AIMIM and BSP together account for the remaining six. Despite being Bihar's smallest assembly constituency by area - covering just 16.239 sq km - Bankipur remains one of the state's most politically significant urban seats. Located in the heart of Patna district, it encompasses major commercial, administrative and residential localities and has long been a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bastion. The bypoll was necessitated after former MLA and BJP national president Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha. The contest has evolved into a triangular fight among BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) nominee Rekha Kumari. For Kishor, a political strategist-turned-politician making one of his biggest electoral gambles, victory would provide a major breakthrough after the Jan Suraaj Party failed to win a single seat despite contesting 238 constituencies in the 2025 Assembly elections. A win in Bankipur would significantly bolster his campaign for political change in Bihar and strengthen his challenge to chief minister Samrat Choudhary's leadership. For the RJD's Rekha Kumari, who finished runner-up in the previous election, victory would revive the party's fortunes in an urban constituency where it has struggled historically while adding to its Assembly tally of 25 seats. For first-time BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, the election represents a remarkable rise from booth-level worker and mandal president to aspiring legislator from one of Patna's most prestigious and educated constituencies. For the BJP, however, the stakes extend well beyond retaining another Assembly seat. It won 89 seats to emerge the single largest party in 2025. The bypoll marks several political firsts. It is the first assembly election in Bihar in nearly two decades without campaigning by former chief minister Nitish Kumar, the first major electoral test under chief minister Samrat Choudhary, and the first after Nitin Nabin assumed charge as BJP national president. Bankipur has remained firmly with the BJP for more than three decades. Nabin won the constituency in 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025 after its creation following the 2008 delimitation. With Nabin now heading the BJP nationally, retaining Bankipur has become both a prestige issue and a symbolic organisational test for the saffron party. National issues overshadow local concerns: Conversations across tea stalls, coaching institutes and commercial establishments reveal that national issues have largely eclipsed local civic concerns. The alleged NEET question paper leak and the government's handling of student protests dominate public discussions. "The government's handling of the student protest over the NEET paper leak, with students being lathi-charged in both Delhi and Patna, will certainly influence young voters," said Tanweer Ahmad, who runs an electrical shop in Sabzibagh. A long-time RJD supporter, Ahmad said many Muslim voters were reassessing their traditional political preferences. "We have voted for the RJD for years, but it has done little for us. Its leaders have hardly campaigned in the constituency. Prashant Kishor appears to be a viable alternative now," he said. Not everyone agrees. Md Mudassir, who runs a coaching institute, dismissed Kishor's prospects. "The Jan Suraaj candidate is only a 'vote-katuwa' (referring to a candidate who eats into the assumed vote bank or support base of another candidate, thus weakening him or her). We hardly see the candidate himself, only his campaign vehicles. We will vote for a party that has a realistic chance of winning," he said. Arshad Azad, an employee at a city eye hospital, believes Kishor could divide both BJP and RJD votes. "Had the RJD supported Kishor, the electoral arithmetic could have changed. The BJP still enjoys a committed vote base whose supporters vote for the party irrespective of the candidate," he added. Azad also said resentment persists among sections of Muslim voters after no member of the RJD's first family visited to condole the death of former RJD MLC Anwar Ahmad. While larger political narratives dominate the campaign, civic grievances remain unresolved in several neighbourhoods. Residents of Daldali complained about the prolonged drain-covering project between Uma Cinema and Antaghat, alleging they have endured stench and filth for more than two years. "We are forced to live amid garbage and silt. It is unbelievable that such conditions exist in the state capital," said shopkeeper Baidyanath Thakur. Homemaker Sumitra Devi expressed her frustration bluntly. "If anyone comes seeking votes, I'll throw garbage at them," she remarked. Some traditional BJP supporters also indicated they were willing to experiment. "The BJP has held this seat for decades, but development has not matched expectations. Perhaps the party needs a wake-up call," said school proprietor Anuj Kumar. Others remain firmly behind the BJP. "The BJP promotes grassroots workers instead of dynastic politics," said medical store owner Kundan Kumar Gupta, adding that the party's organisational culture continued to inspire confidence. Among educated voters, particularly doctors, opinion appears sharply divided. Some questioned the BJP's choice of a first-time candidate and criticised the government's handling of the NEET controversy. "Did the BJP not have a better-qualified candidate? It reflects arrogance to assume anyone can win from Bankipur," said a doctor from Bahadurpur, requesting anonymity. Eminent ophthalmologist Dr Sunil Kumar Singh, however, feels the BJP has an edge. "The margin may be smaller, but it looks like the BJP has an advantage being the pocket borough of the party for the last few decades. Prashant Kishor speaks about development but has yet to present a convincing blueprint. People are looking for credible governance, not merely criticism. He spoke so much about corruption in politics but nothing came out of it," he said....