Bihar Assembly bypolls: FIR against state BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal, Kishanganj candidate for poll code violation

Kishanganj: An FIR has been lodged against Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal and Sweety Singh, the party's candidate for Kishanganj Assembly bypoll, for allegedly violating the model code of conduct, an official said.[caption id="attachment_7526811" align="alignleft" width="380"] File image of Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal. ANI[/caption]The FIR was registered at Sadar police station on Saturday evening following a written complaint by Kishanganj Sadar Circle Officer Shafi Ahmad after a video surfaced on social media purportedly showing Jaiswal exhorting businessmen to close their establishments on the polling day, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Shanawaz Ahmad Niyazi said. Jaiswal had also allegedly promised to pay Rs 500 to employees of business firms for voting in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).The state BJP chief allegedly made the remarks, in the presence of the party candidate, during a meeting of local businessmen on Thursday at the residence of Kishanganj Municipal Council vice-chairperson Aanchi Devi.Reacting to the FIR lodged against her and Bihar BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal, Sweety Singh said that the state chief's statement had been "misconstrued". "Jaiswal had talked about giving money for food and snacks to party workers but his statement has been misconstrued," the Kishanganj party candidate said.Jaiswal, a Lok Sabha member from West Champaran, could not be contacted for his comment.Bypolls to Kishanganj and four other assembly seats in Bihar will be held on Monday as the incumbent MLAs were elected to Parliament in the April-May general election.