Polling officials with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other election materials leave for their designated polling stations on the eve of the Bankipur Assembly by-election, in Patna on Wednesday. (ANI Photo)Voting began on Thursday morning for the high-stake contest in Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar. The seat in Patna is witnessing a triangular contest between the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj.Polling for the Bankipur assembly began at 7 AM on Thursday amid tight security arrangements, PTI cited officials as saying. Around 3.80 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 26 candidates.The voting was necessitated in the seat after BJP MLA Nitin Nabin was elected to Rajya Sabha in April, following his elevation as national president of the BJP earlier this year.While the ruling BJP has pitched Neeraj Kumar Sinha, a debutant, Tejashwi’s RJD has nominated Rekha Gupta. Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor, who skipped contesting Bihar assembly elections last year, has thrown his hat for the contest.Here are the latest updates in the story:Visuals from the scene showed people casting their votes in Bankipur amid tight security arrangements. A mock poll was conducted at designated polling station ahead of polling.The voting began after a high drama on Wednesday night after Prashant Kishor accused the Bihar Police of having picked up many of his supporters, allegedly at the behest of the ruling BJP.Kishor, who is making his electoral debut by contesting the seat, made the allegation barely a few hours before voting was scheduled to begin at 7 AM on Thursday.BJP leader Chandreshwar Prasad Thakur was among the first voters to have filed their votes. “I think our party will win. Our entire family has come to cast our votes,” he told reporters after casting his vote.The results will announced on Monday, August 3.Bankipur was carved out of the erstwhile Patna West Assembly seat after the 2008 delimitation. The seat is considered a BJP stronghold and remained with Nitin Nabin since 2006.Before Nabin, his father Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha represented the seat. With its sizeable middle-class electorate, trading community and distinct caste composition, the bypoll is being closely watched as an indicator of urban sentiment in Bihar.