Jan Suraaj rises: Prashant Kishor ends BJP’s 30-year dominance on Bankipur in by-poll
Bankpur, August 03
In a massive political shift in Bihar, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor won the Bankipur assembly bypoll on Monday, wresting away a seat the BJP had long considered one of its safest strongholds in the state.
Prashant Kishor won by a margin of 19,324 votes, securing 64,151 votes, as the BJP’s Neeraj Kumar trailed with 44,827 votes.
The win marks Kishor’s first electoral victory since he launched Jan Suraaj, and comes barely nine months after the party failed to open its account in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. The by-poll recorded a voter turnout of 34.24 per cent, according to the Election Commission.
Celebrations overtook the Jan Suraaj office and streets of Patna as they waited for the results. Kishor’s wife also expressed her gratitude to the people of Bankipur.
“In democracy, the fortress belongs only to the people. Thank you, Bankipur–this is your victory,” said Jan Suraaj Party on X.
For the BJP, the defeat is a far more significant setback than the loss of a single seat, as Bankipur had been held comfortably by the party since 1995. For over three decades, the constituency was effectively the political fiefdom of one family: first represented by BJP leader Navin Kishore Prasad Sinha, and continuously held for five consecutive terms by his son and now BJP national president Nitin Nabin, whose move to the Rajya Sabha triggered the bypoll in the first place.
In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Nabin had won Bankipur by a massive margin of over 50,000 votes. For Kishor to systematically dismantle that legacy in Nabin’s own backyard delivers a severe blow to the ruling party’s prestige.
The bypoll had drawn significant attention as it marked the electoral debut of Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor in what was seen as a BJP bastion.
After years as a legendary political strategist for other parties, Prashant Kishor launched Jan Suraaj to create an alternative political movement built around grassroots issues, education, and employment. Winning a premier urban constituency in his first direct electoral contest provides a massive validation for Jan Suraaj, establishing it as a formidable political force against both the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan.
Earlier in the day, Kishor had framed the result as something larger than a single assembly seat. “It was an attempt by the people of Bihar to send a message to the BJP’s central leadership that they should appoint a good person as the Chief Minister of Bihar,” he told reporters.
The road to victory was not without political friction. Ahead of the counting, Prashant Kishor had alleged that police detained more than 16 party leaders and workers, accusing the ruling BJP and the state government of using the police to “harass” his party workers.
Kishore has been congratulated by Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who called it a “grand festival of democracy”.
“In the grand festival of democracy, the people have chosen Jan Suraaj in the Bankipur Assembly by-election. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Shri Prashant Kishor ji on his victory, while respecting the people’s decision,” he said on X. (ANI)