Prashant Kishor wins Bankipur bypoll, hands BJP major setback in electoral debut

Patna: Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has won a landmark victory in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll on Monday, establishing a commanding lead in the BJP stronghold in what marks his electoral debut.

The by-election was necessitated after BJP president Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha.

Kishor, the former election strategist-turned-politician, led from the opening round of counting and maintained a comfortable advantage throughout the day. After 26 of the 31 counting rounds, he was ahead of BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha by 15,864 votes.

The result sparked celebrations among Jan Suraaj Party workers, providing a significant boost to the fledgling outfit after it failed to win a single seat in the Bihar Assembly elections held in November last year.

"This is the beginning of a golden age for our party," said Jan Suraaj state president Manoj Bharti.

"In a democracy, the will of the people is supreme. The verdict is a message to parties and leaders who arrogantly think of constituencies as their fiefdoms," he added.

RJD candidate Rekha Gupta, who had lost to Nabin by around 50,000 votes in last year's Assembly election, was trailing in third place.

Kishor's first electoral contest

The July 30 by-election marks the first direct electoral contest for election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor.

The Bankipur Assembly seat, which falls under the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, became vacant after BJP leader and former MLA Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year.

Bankipur has long been regarded as a BJP stronghold. Nitin Nabin represented the constituency since 2010, succeeding his father, Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha, making it one of the BJP's most established urban seats in Bihar.

Contest watched closely in Bihar

Ahead of the election, Kishor said he had deliberately chosen to contest from Bankipur rather than a politically safer constituency. He said the decision was intended to encourage voters to move beyond caste and religion while exercising their franchise.

He also urged people not to vote out of fear of either Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav or the BJP.

The Bankipur bypoll has emerged as one of Bihar's closely watched political contests, with the outcome seen as a key test for Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party in its first major electoral battle.