India, July 19 -- The Bankipur Assembly by-election has emerged as one of the most closely watched political contests in Bihar, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seeking to protect one of its strongest urban bastions while Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor looks to establish his fledgling party as a credible political force after failing to make a significant electoral impact in the Assembly elections.

The by-election was necessitated after former Bankipur MLA Nitin Nabin resigned from the Assembly following his election to the Rajya Sabha and subsequent appointment as the BJP's national president. The BJP has nominated Neeraj Kumar Sinha, while the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) has fielded its founder, Prashant Kishor, setting the stage f...