Patna, August 3, 2026: Bihar BJP President Sanjay Saraogi on Monday congratulated Jan Suraaj Party candidate Prashant Kishor as he moved closer to victory in the prestigious Bankipur Assembly by-election.
The BJP leader also said the party would review the reasons behind its performance in the seat.
"We have consistently worked for the development of Bankipur, and it will remain our priority in the future. The people of Bankipur are our own. We will conduct a detailed review to understand why we received fewer votes. I also congratulate the winning candidate in advance," Saraogi said.
Kishor Extends Lead
Jan Suraaj Party candidate Prashant Kishor is leading by 18,964 votes over BJP's Neeraj Kumar in the Bankipur Assembly by-election after 29 of the 31 rounds of counting.
The by-election was necessitated after BJP leader Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha. In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Nabin won Bankipur by a margin of more than 50,000 votes.
With Kishor on the verge of a major political upset, his supporters are in a celebratory mood.
Hundreds of Jan Suraaj workers gathered outside counting centres and party offices in Patna, dancing to the beats of dhol, smearing green gulal and raising slogans hailing a "new dawn of alternative politics in Bihar."
BJP Stronghold Faces Challenge
The Bankipur Assembly seat (formerly Patna West) has been a BJP stronghold. It was earlier represented by BJP leader Navin Kishore Prasad Sinha. Later, his son Nitin Nabin represented the constituency for five consecutive terms.
After years of work as a leading political strategist, Prashant Kishor launched the Jan Suraaj Party to create an alternative political movement built around grassroots issues, education and employment.
The party failed to win any seat in its Assembly election debut last year.
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Political Significance
This is the first by-election since BJP leader Samrat Choudhary assumed office as Chief Minister, taking over the leadership of the coalition government from senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, who is now a member of the Rajya Sabha.
(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
