Prashant Kishor Wins Bankipur Bypoll in Major Setback for BJP

Prashant Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, won the Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar on his electoral debut, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha. Kishor secured 64,151 votes, winning by a margin of 19,324 votes over Sinha, who received 44,827 votes. The RJD candidate, Rekha Kumari Gupta, finished third with 14,273 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after BJP National President Nitin Nabin resigned his seat to become a Rajya Sabha MP. Bankipur had been a BJP stronghold for over three decades, previously held by Nabin and his father, Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha.

Kishor framed the victory as a referendum on the BJP led government in Bihar under Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. He stated that the result was a message to the BJP central leadership to appoint a capable and honest Chief Minister focused on education, employment, and reducing migration. He specifically criticized the conduct and character of Samrat Choudhary, arguing that a person with a criminal background should not lead the state. Chief Minister Choudhary congratulated Kishor on his victory and stated that he respected the people's verdict.

The BJP campaign faced a complication when the party replaced its original nominee, Abhishek Kumar Sinha, shortly before nominations closed. The withdrawal was attributed to family reasons, and reports indicated his father had been named in a case related to the 1990s fodder scam. Voter turnout for the bypoll was recorded at approximately 34 percent.

Opposition leaders reacted strongly to the result. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal called the loss of the BJP national president's former seat a signal of deep discontent with the Modi government. Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O'Brien described the event as the beginning of the end for the BJP. Meanwhile, the Jan Suraaj Party viewed the win as a breakthrough, as the party had failed to win any seats in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections.