RJD vs Congress War Erupts: Grand Alliance Faces Internal Crisis Over High-Profile Bankipur By-Election in Bihar
The opposition’s Grand Alliance (INDIA bloc) in Bihar is witnessing severe internal friction as both the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress party have aggressively staked their claims on the high-profile Bankipur Assembly seat for the upcoming by-election. This ongoing tug-of-war has raised intense political temperatures across the state, leaving voters wondering if both alliance partners will end up fielding duplicate candidates against each other.
RJD Asserts Dominance and Vows to Win Bankipur Sounding a confident note, RJD Chief Spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav declared that his party will definitively contest and win the Bankipur seat. He stated that RJD workers have already spent years preparing a rock-solid grassroots foundation in the constituency and have already launched their active election campaigns. Defending the move, Yadav explained that during the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, no other ally within the Grand Alliance was willing to fight from this challenging seat, leading the RJD to step in and secure a commendable 50,000 votes. He assured that the party's official candidate would be announced very soon to capitalize on the public's desire for political change.
Congress Strikes Back Calling Bankipur its Traditional Bastion In stark contrast, the Congress party has flatly rejected RJD's unilateral stance. Bihar Congress Spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari asserted that Congress holds the strongest and most legitimate claim to Bankipur, as it has historically been a traditional Congress stronghold. Launching a direct attack on the RJD leadership, Tiwari warned that if any party within the INDIA Alliance decides a candidate without consulting its partners, it demonstrates a blatant disregard for alliance ethics. He firmly stated that Congress is under no obligation to respect any ally that isolates others, adding that the final decision must be made collectively. Notably, Congress had contested and lost this seat in the 2015 and 2020 polls, while RJD met a similar fate in 2025.
Critical By-Poll Schedule and Why the Seat is Vacant The political showdown comes at a critical time as the official nomination process kicked off this Monday, July 6, 2026. Aspiring candidates have until July 13 to submit their nomination papers. The high-profile election is scheduled for July 30, with the final counting of votes and result declaration slated for August 3, 2026. This sudden political vacuum was created after the incumbent legislator, BJP National President Nitin Naveen, vacated the seat following his successful election to the Rajya Sabha. The developing situation has also drawn a sharp reaction from Independent MP Pappu Yadav regarding political strategist Prashant Kishor's influence on voter dissatisfaction with the current government.
