EC announces bypolls for 3 assembly seats in Bihar, MP and Gujarat; voting on July 30

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Thursday announced byelections to three assembly constituencies in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, with polling scheduled for July 30 and counting of votes on August 3.Of the three seats, two — Bankipur in Bihar and Manjalpur in Gujarat — were held by the BJP, while Datia in Madhya Pradesh was represented by the Congress.The Bankipur seat fell vacant after BJP leader Nitin Nabin resigned as an MLA following his election to the Rajya Sabha in April. Nabin was appointed the party’s national president in January.The Manjalpur constituency fell vacant following the death of BJP MLA Yogeshbhai Narandas Patel in June.The Datia seat was vacated after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was disqualified following his conviction in a bank scam case.The Election Commission said the notification for the bypolls will be issued on July 6. The last date for filing nominations is July 13, scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on July 14, and candidates can withdraw their nominations until July 16.