Bankipur By-Election: Prashant Kishor Declares Assets Over ₹208 Crore, Pending Criminal Cases
The Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar has drawn attention as Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor filed his nomination on Monday, declaring total movable and immovable assets of over ₹208 crore, according to his affidavit submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Kishor and his wife, Jahanvi Das, have combined movable assets valued at ₹121.71 crore, with Kishor's share at ₹22.20 crore and Das's at ₹99.52 crore. Das, an MBBS and Senior Advisor at Apollo Indraprastha Hospital in New Delhi, also owns 475 grams of gold and 200 grams of silver. Their minor son Daibik Bhardwaj has movable assets of ₹7.19 lakh.
In immovable assets, Kishor holds properties worth ₹73.87 crore at current market value, while his wife has assets worth ₹12.42 crore. Their total liabilities stand at ₹6.32 crore, with Kishor's share being ₹5.77 crore and Das's at ₹55.38 lakh.
Kishor holds a 100% controlling stake in Vedhas Ventures Private Limited, which donated ₹85 crore to the Jan Suraaj Party and ₹50 lakh to the Jan Suraaj Foundation in 2024-25, and ₹2.75 crore to the Joy of Giving Global Foundation in 2023-24.
The poll strategist-turned-politician has eight pending criminal cases against him, mostly related to unlawful assembly, but he has not been convicted in any of them. His highest educational qualification is a Master of Healthcare Management from the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, along with a specialised healthcare programme from Johns Hopkins University and Hinduja Hospital, and an intensive French language course from CAVILAM VICHY, France.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its candidate for the by-election, which was necessitated after the previous MLA Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Senior BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Bihar BJP President Sanjay Saraogi, attended Sinha's nomination. Other NDA allies also present included Janata Dal (United) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) state president Raju Tiwari, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) state president Anil Kumar, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha state president Alok Kumar.
As of filing this report, the BJP candidate's affidavit had not been uploaded on the ECI website. The last date for nominations was July 13.
In a related development, Vina Mandavi, candidate of the Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD) led by Tej Pratap Yadav, was arrested by Patna police soon after filing her nomination in connection with an old case.
Polling for the Bankipur seat is scheduled for July 30, with counting on August 3.
