Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor scripted a major political upset in Bihar by defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in the Bankipur Assembly byelection, a constituency represented for five consecutive terms by the BJP’s national president Nitin Nabin. The BJP retained Manjalpur in Gujarat while the Congress held on to Madhya Pradesh’s Datia in other Assembly byelections.
Mr. Kishor dedicated the victory to the people of Bankipur and appealed to the BJP’s central leadership to change the Chief Minister of Bihar. The Bankipur Assembly seat had fallen vacant after Mr. Nabin vacated the seat upon his election to the Rajya Sabha and elevation as BJP chief.
The political strategist-turned-politician clinched victory over BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha by a margin of 19,324 votes. He bagged 64,151 votes while Mr. Sinha finished with 44,827 votes. Rashtriya Janata Dal nominee Rekha Kumari secured the third position with 14,273 votes. A total of 25 candidates contested the election, with 646 voters choosing the NOTA option.
In the 2025 Assembly election, Mr. Nabin had defeated Ms. Kumari by a margin of 51,936 votes. He had secured 98,299 votes while Ms. Kumari polled 46,363 votes. The JSP’s Vandana Kumari had received 7,717 votes.
Prashant Kishor: From election backrooms to Bihar Assembly
Throughout the 32 rounds of counting on Monday, Mr. Kishor, contesting an election for the first time, remained ahead in every round and held on to his lead until the final tally. Celebrations broke out at the JSP office in Patliputra Colony after the 10th round, when Mr. Kishor had established a lead of over 6,000 votes.
A JSP worker, celebrating the victory while dancing to Bhojpuri songs, said: “Bankipur is just a trailer; the whole of Bihar is still to come.”
After the 22nd round of counting, when Mr. Kishor was leading by a margin of around 13,000 votes, he and his wife Jahanvi Das walked to the counting centre at A.N. College to join the party workers and supporters in celebrations.
“The people have not only elected an MLA, but the people of Bankipur have given a message to the central leadership of the BJP to replace Samrat Choudhary with a better person. I expect that the BJP leadership will seriously think about it,” Mr. Kishor said.
He added that the time had come for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to not only care about the people of Gujarat but also pay attention to the people of Bihar.
“My only concern is that the young people of Bihar need to go to other States in search of jobs. Migration from Bihar should be stopped,” he said.
Read updates from the vote counting for Manjalpur Assembly bypoll in Gujarat
The Bihar Chief Minister congratulated Mr. Kishor on his victory on his X handle. “In the grand festival of democracy, the people have chosen Jan Suraaj in the Bankipur Assembly by-election. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Prashant Kishor ji on his victory, while respecting the people’s decision,” said Mr. Choudhary.
In his statement, Bihar BJP State president Sanjay Saraogi said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party humbly accepts the mandate of the Bankipur by-election and respects the decision of the people. In a democratic process, the verdict of the people is above everything! We will seriously analyse why we did not secure the votes; we will identify our shortcomings and work diligently to rectify them.”
He added, “Unlike Opposition parties, we do not blame constitutional institutions, EVMs, or the Election Commission for our defeat. The Bharatiya Janata Party has complete faith in democracy and constitutional systems, and believes in addressing its shortcomings through introspection and review.”
BJP wins in Manjalpur
In Gujarat, the BJP retained the Manjalpur Assembly seat in Vadodara district, with its candidate Satish Govindbhai Patel defeating Congress nominee and former Minister Bhikhabhai Rabari by 30,630 votes. According to the Election Commission, Mr. Patel secured 55,481 votes against Mr. Rabari’s 24,851 after 20 rounds of counting at Bhavan’s School in Makarpura. The byelection, necessitated by the death of senior BJP MLA and former Minister Yogesh Patel, recorded a voter turnout of 37.5%.
With the victory, the BJP’s strength in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly has increased to 162 seats, while the Congress has 12 MLAs.
The Congress defended Madhya Pradesh’s Datia Assembly constituency, with its candidate Ghanshyam Singh winning against BJP’s Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes. Mr. Singh, a member of Datia’s erstwhile royal family, polled 66,757 votes against Mr. Tiwari’s 60,741. Mr. Tiwari was picked to contest the bypoll over former State Home Minister Narottam Mishra. Aazad Samaj Party candidate Damodar Yadav ‘Mandal’ finished third with 22,527 votes.
Published – August 03, 2026 08:28 am IST
