New Delhi: Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has registered a major victory in the Bankipur Assembly by-election, defeating BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha by a margin of 18,953 votes and ending the BJP’s long-standing dominance over the constituency.
According to the Election Commission, after all 31 rounds of counting were completed, Kishor secured 63,203 votes, while BJP’s Neeraj Kumar polled 44,250 votes. RJD candidate Rekha Kumari Gupta finished a distant third with 14,085 votes.
The victory marks the first electoral win of Kishor’s political career and is being viewed as a significant development in Bihar politics.
Kishor maintained a strong lead from the early rounds of counting and continued to widen the gap with his rivals as the process progressed. What was initially expected to be a closely watched triangular contest involving the Jan Suraaj Party, BJP and RJD eventually turned into a comfortable victory for Kishor.
The scale of Kishor’s win was such that the principal contest soon appeared to be for the second position. The BJP retained the second spot, while the RJD slipped to third, trailing significantly behind both Kishor and the BJP.
The result has surprised political observers, particularly as Bankipur has traditionally been considered a BJP stronghold, with the party having never previously lost the seat.
The by-election was necessitated after former MLA and BJP state president Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha. The contest had gained further attention after the BJP replaced its original nominee, Abhishek Kumar Sinha, with youth wing leader Neeraj Kumar following the former’s withdrawal.
Kishor’s victory is being seen as a significant shift in the political dynamics of the Patna constituency and a major boost for the Jan Suraaj Party.
The bypoll was also closely watched as the first electoral test since nationwide student protests over examination paper leaks, with the outcome expected to offer an indication of public sentiment, particularly among young voters.
Counting was also held in Datia in Madhya Pradesh and Manjalpur in Gujarat.
In Datia, first-time BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari was locked in a direct contest with Congress’ Ghanshyam Singh following the disqualification of Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti. The seat had also witnessed discontent among supporters of former minister Narottam Mishra over the BJP’s change of candidate.
In Gujarat’s Manjalpur, the bypoll followed the death of sitting BJP MLA Yogeshbhai Narandas Patel. The contest pitted BJP nominee Satish Govindbhai Patel against Congress leader and former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari in a constituency long dominated by the BJP.