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In the Bankipur by-election in Bihar, Prashant Kishor, the popular leader of the Jan Suraj Party, defeated the BJP candidate Nijjar Kumar by a margin of 19,324 votes. Bankipur has been a traditional BJP seat, where BJP National President Nitin Naveen himself has served as an MLA five times.

Prashant Kishore halted the BJP’s victory by securing a total of 64,151 votes. Meanwhile, BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar managed just 44,827 votes. Bihar’s main opposition party, the RJD, slipped to third place.

RJD got 14,085 votes

Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate Rekha Kumari finished third with 14,085 votes. Other candidates included Manoranjan Kumar Srivastava of the Progressive Janata Party with 950 votes, Tanveer Alam of the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party with 847 votes, and Pradeep Kumar of the Bharatiya Aam Awam Party with 763 votes. 

‘A lesson for BJP’s arrogance’

Prashant Kishor’s victory was also hailed as a “lesson for the BJP’s arrogance” by several leaders outside his party. These included Tej Pratap Yadav, president of the Janshakti Janata Dal and the elder son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Dipankar Bhattacharya, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, an ally of the opposition All India Alliance.

vigorous election campaign

Prashant Kishor and the BJP campaigned vigorously for several days before the July 30 vote. During the campaign, both sides accused each other of electoral irregularities and even approached the Election Commission. 

RJD welcomed the victory

Senior socialist leader Shivanand Tiwari, who was a key leader of the JP movement in the 1970s, said, “The Bankipur verdict should be seen against the backdrop of widespread discontent with the BJP, reflected in recent student protests. Credit should also be given to Prashant Kishor, who displayed extraordinary energy and organizational ability.”

RJD spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan also expressed happiness over the results. His party has often referred to Prashant Kishor as the BJP’s “B team.” However, Gagan said, “For us, it is more important that the BJP was defeated in its stronghold than who won.”