Prashant Kishor wins Bankipur bypoll, Jan Suraaj clinches first Bihar seat

Prashant Kishor, the founder of the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), has won the Bankipur assembly seat in Bihar’s Patna district, marking the party’s first electoral victory. Kishor, a former poll strategist, defeated his nearest rival in a bypoll that drew national attention because the seat was a long-time BJP stronghold.

Kishor thanked the voters of Bankipur and promised to work for Bihar’s development. He also said the result sends a message to the BJP’s central leadership about the kind of chief minister voters want in the state. “The people of Bihar have sent a message to the BJP's central leadership that they should appoint a good person as the chief minister of Bihar. They do not want a person with a criminal background or questionable conduct, character, or reputation to lead Bihar,” he told reporters in Patna.

The Bankipur bypoll was triggered by the resignation of BJP leader Nitin Nabin, who had represented the seat for several terms and later moved to the Rajya Sabha. Nabin also served as the BJP’s national president. The seat, part of the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, had been considered a BJP bastion for decades.

The election took place amid nationwide student protests in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, with concerns raised by young voters emerging as a key theme in the campaign. Bankipur, home to several educational institutions and a young demographic, was closely watched by political analysts. Some had suggested that the bypoll would test the influence of young voters, though Nabin had downplayed the impact, telling NDTV last week that the BJP still had the support of the youth.

The BJP faced a last-minute change in candidate after Abhishek Kumar Sinha withdrew his candidature a day before filing nominations, citing family reasons. The party then fielded youth wing leader Neeraj Kumar. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had nominated Rekha Kumari from the seat.

The Jan Suraaj Party had previously failed to win any seat in its first electoral outing in the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, and Kishor did not contest then. With this win, Bankipur becomes the first-ever seat won by both the JSP and Kishor, giving the party a foothold in the Bihar assembly.

Congratulating Kishor, JSP Bihar president Manoj Bharti said the people of Bankipur had chosen change and that the party got support from all sections. “There is no pocket where Jan Suraaj's voice did not reach. This is a big victory to keep democracy alive in Bihar. We have got a huge amount of silent voters who have supported us,” Bharti said.

The result is significant not only for the JSP but also for Bihar’s political landscape, as it signals a shift in a seat that had long been a BJP stronghold. With the bypoll outcome, attention now turns to how the BJP will respond and what it means for the state’s politics ahead of the next assembly election.