Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has won the Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar, defeating BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar by 19,324 votes and ending the BJP’s nearly three-decade hold over the constituency.
According to the Election Commission of India, Kishor secured 64,151 votes, while Neeraj Kumar polled 44,827. RJD candidate Rekha Kumari finished third with 14,273 votes.
The victory marks Kishor’s maiden electoral win and gives the Jan Suraaj Party its first-ever seat in the Bihar Legislative Assembly since the party’s formation.
The bypoll was necessitated after BJP leader Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha. The constituency had remained with the BJP since 1995, first represented by Nabin’s late father, Navin Chandra Sinha, and later by Nabin himself.
Reacting to the result, Kishor thanked the voters of Bankipur and said he wanted to be judged by his work rather than promises.
“My becoming an MLA won’t turn Bankipur into Bengaluru, but people will see improvements over the next two to three months,” he said, adding that his immediate priority would be development in the constituency.
Describing the verdict as significant, Kishor said the “30-year fort has collapsed in 30 days,” claiming the result reflected people’s desire for politics focused on education, employment and development instead of caste and welfare politics.
He also termed the outcome a “wake-up call” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged the BJP leadership to appoint a new Chief Minister in Bihar in place of Samrat Choudhary.
BJP Accepts Verdict
BJP president Nitin Nabin accepted the outcome, saying the party respected the people’s mandate.
In a post on X, Nabin thanked voters in Gujarat’s Manjalpur constituency, where the BJP retained the seat, and said the party would conduct a serious review of its defeats in Bankipur and Datia.
“We did not receive the expected mandate in Bankipur and Datia. We will introspect with complete seriousness and continue working to strengthen the people’s trust,” he said.
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary also congratulated Kishor, saying he respected the people’s verdict.
Congress Retains Datia Seat
In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress retained the Datia Assembly seat, with Ghanshyam Singh defeating BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes.
The bypoll was held after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti’s membership was terminated following his conviction in a cheating case.
The BJP acknowledged the defeat, with state president Hemant Khandelwal indicating that the party would review the result and take disciplinary action if internal sabotage was found.
BJP Holds Manjalpur in Gujarat
In Gujarat, the BJP retained the Manjalpur Assembly constituency in Vadodara district.
BJP candidate Satish Govindbhai Patel defeated Congress nominee Bhikhabhai Rabari by 30,630 votes, securing 55,481 votes against Rabari’s 24,851.
The bypoll was necessitated by the death of sitting BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Yogesh Patel. Although the BJP retained the seat comfortably, its victory margin was significantly lower than in the 2022 Assembly election.
