Bankipur Bypoll Result: Prashant Kishor Surges Ahead By 6,419 Votes In Early Counting; BJP Says It's Too Early to Call The Result | Video

Patna: Jan Suraaj founder and Bankipur bypoll candidate Prashant Kishor surged ahead of BJP nominee Neeraj Kumar Sinha in early rounds of counting.

After the 11th round of counting, Kishor established a lead of 6,419 votes over  BJP candidate.

The Bankipur Assembly by-election was necessitated after BJP national president Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha, vacating the seat.

Outside the AN College counting centre on Boring Road, Jan Suraaj supporters celebrated the early lead by raising slogans and smearing each other with yellow gulal. The bright yellow background features prominently across Jan Suraaj materials, local campaign scarves, and promotional merchandise used during rallies.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at the state offices of both the BJP and the RJD as counting trends continued to show Kishor maintaining a comfortable lead over the BJP candidate.

Political observers speculated that Kishor may have drawn support from sections of the RJD's traditional vote base, including Yadav and Muslim voters. 

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and minister Ram Kripal Yadav claimed that it was to early to predict anything as these were early trends.

During the campaign, the former election strategist had argued that the Bankipur bypoll was more than just an election to choose an MLA. He described it as a referendum on Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary's leadership and urged voters to use the contest to send a message to the BJP over its leadership choices in the state.