Patna, August 3: Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor emerged victorious in the Bankipur Assembly by-election after the completion of vote counting, marking the first electoral success for his fledgling political party in Bihar.
According to the final counting trends after 31 rounds, Kishor secured 63,203 votes, defeating BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, who polled 44,250 votes. RJD candidate Rekha Gupta finished third with 14,085 votes.
Kishor registered a winning margin of 18,953 votes over the BJP candidate. However, at the time of filing this report, the Election Commission had not yet formally declared the result.
The victory is a significant political milestone for Prashant Kishor, who was contesting an Assembly election for the first time. It also marks the maiden electoral triumph for the Jan Suraaj Party, which is still in its formative stages.
The result is particularly noteworthy as Bankipur has traditionally been regarded as a BJP stronghold, making Kishor’s win a major political upset in Bihar.
Reacting to the outcome, Bihar Minister and senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha said the party respects the democratic mandate and accepts the people’s verdict with humility. He reiterated the BJP’s faith in the Election Commission and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), stating that the party never questions constitutional institutions after an electoral defeat.
Sinha said the BJP would conduct a comprehensive organisational review to identify the reasons behind its inability to retain the seat. He added that while the bypoll result would be analysed, it should also be viewed in the context of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, in which the NDA secured 202 seats.
BJP Bihar President Sanjay Saraogi also accepted the public mandate, saying the party would examine the factors that led to the shift in voter support. He maintained that the BJP had carried out significant development work in Bankipur and assured that the party’s commitment to the constituency’s development would continue irrespective of the election outcome.
With the counting process now complete, only the formal notification by the Election Commission remains. Once officially declared, Prashant Kishor will become the new MLA from Bankipur, marking a historic breakthrough for Jan Suraaj and potentially reshaping Bihar’s political landscape.
