Overview
- Voting took place on Thursday in three assembly bypolls—Bankipur in Bihar, Datia in Madhya Pradesh and Manjalpur in Gujarat—with the Election Commission scheduling counting for August 3.
- Bankipur has become the most watched contest because Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor is making his electoral debut there and has publicly accused the NDA of circulating an AI-generated video of Nitish Kumar while challenging the party to prove the tape’s authenticity.
- Hours before polling Kishor alleged Bihar police picked up more than a dozen of his supporters and he confronted Jakkanpur police over missing records and the reported transfers of detained workers.
- In Datia the BJP campaigned on development themes and its state leaders expressed confidence of victory after the seat was vacated when a Congress MLA was disqualified following a corruption conviction.
- The fallout from the NEET paper-leak protests remains active as Delhi Police welded barricades and deployed the Rapid Action Force at Jantar Mantar while protesters set up legal aid networks and warned they could resume demonstrations.