Bypolls: Prashant Kishor wins Bankipur, ends BJP's 31-year rule; Congress bags Datia

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Monday (August 3) made a winning electoral debut as he defeated BJP's Neeraj Kumar Sinha by over 19,000 votes in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar.

Contesting from the seat vacated by BJP national president Nitin Nabin after his election to the Rajya Sabha, Kishor ended the saffron party's 31-year stronghold in Bankipur. The BJP had not lost in Bankipur since 1995.

Kishor polled 64,151 votes while Sinha got 44,827 votes. RJD candidate Rekha Gupta, who had lost to Nabin by around 50,000 votes in the 2025 Assembly elections, was a distant third with 14,273 votes, as per the Election Commission (EC).

Jubilations erupted in the Jan Suraaj Party camp, replacing the dejection that had set in after the fledgling outfit drew a blank in Assembly elections held in November last year.

What Kishor said

Kishor, 49, who had entered the fray announcing that he saw the by-election as a “referendum” on the BJP-led government in the state, told reporters, “The victory is a wake-up call for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who must install a new chief minister in place of Samrat Choudhary, a man with criminal antecedents”.

"In 3 months, you will see a visible change in Bankipur. But for that, you will have to give me 3 months. My doors are open not only for the people of Bankipur, but for the entire Bihar...I have not done something extraordinary here, but still demolished the BJP's stronghold of 30 years in just 30 days," he said.

"I am also congratulating those who lost the election. This is a democracy; there are wins and losses in elections. But the Bankipur election was not an election to elect an MLA. This election was to decide on the BJP-NDA government and its leadership. The people of Bankipur have voted that the central leadership of the BJP should consider it and, in the interest of Bihar, hand over the power of Bihar to a good person," Kishor added.

On X (Formerly Twitter), Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary congratulated Kishor. "In the grand festival of democracy, the people have chosen Jan Suraaj in the Bankipur Assembly by-election. Respecting this decision of the people, I heartily congratulate Prashant Kishor on his victory," he wrote in Hindi.

Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi said in a statement, "We bow before the will of the people. We shall draw lessons from the debacle, unlike our opponents who tend to blame every electoral loss of theirs on EVMs and the Election Commission".

BJP camp disappointed

The BJP camp presented a very different picture. Party workers had arrived at a sweets shop earlier in the day to collect 200 kg of laddoos ordered in anticipation of victory. As the counting progressed, the celebrations gave way to disappointment.

Kishor had chosen not to contest the 2025 Assembly elections before entering the Bankipur bypoll, describing it as a "referendum" on the BJP-led government in Bihar.

Campaign backdrop

The campaign before polling on July 30 remained heated, with both the BJP and the Jan Suraaj Party accusing each other of electoral malpractice and approaching the Election Commission over the issue.

"The verdict in Bankipur must be viewed in the backdrop of the wider dissatisfaction with the BJP which recently got reflected in the students' protests. Of course, credit must also be given to Prashant Kishor, who displayed enormous energy and organisational skills," veteran socialist leader Shivanand Tiwary said.

Earlier, Bihar minister Shrawon Kumar had appealed for patience while the counting was underway. "These are early trends. The picture will become clear after a few more rounds of counting. We are hopeful that the mandate will be in the NDA's favour because we have worked for the development of people irrespective of caste, religion or creed."

Congress bags Datia

Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh defeats BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,016 votes in bypoll to Datia Assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh. The Datia bypoll was held after Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti was disqualified following his conviction in a decades-old criminal case, triggering a vacancy under the Representation of the People Act.

The contest drew attention after the BJP denied a ticket to former state Home Minister Narottam Mishra, a six-time MLA from Datia, and instead fielded first-time candidate Ashutosh Tiwari, prompting protests by Mishra's supporters before the party closed ranks behind its nominee.

BJP retains Manjalpur

In Gujarat, the BJP retained the Manjalpur assembly seat. Party candidate Satish Patel defeated Congress nominee and former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari by 30,630 votes, securing 55,481 votes against Rabari's 24,851 after all 20 rounds of counting.

"I sincerely thank the people from the bottom of my heart for preserving Manjalpur as a fortress of the Bharatiya Janata Party," Patel said after his victory.

Rabari alleged misuse of government machinery and violations of the model code of conduct during the campaign. There was no immediate response from either the BJP or the Election Commission.

(With agency inputs)