Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor registered a landmark victory in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar on Monday, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its long-standing stronghold and marking a significant milestone in his electoral debut.
Kishor secured 63,203 votes, defeating BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, who polled 44,250 votes, by a margin of 18,953 votes. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Rekha Kumari finished a distant third with 14,085 votes.
The bypoll was necessitated after BJP leader and current party president Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha. The constituency, formerly known as Patna West, had remained with the BJP since 1995, making Kishor's victory one of the party's biggest setbacks in urban Bihar in recent years.
Polling for the seat was held on July 30, recording a voter turnout of 34.30 per cent, lower than the 41.45 per cent registered during the previous Assembly election. Counting began with postal ballots before Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were opened under tight security. Kishor maintained a steady lead throughout the counting process, eventually pulling ahead by nearly 19,000 votes.
Reacting to the outcome, Kishor described the result as a mandate for clean politics and development, saying the people of Bihar had voted for better governance, quality education and employment opportunities.
In Gujarat, the BJP comfortably retained the Manjalpur Assembly seat. Party candidate Satish Govindbhai Patel defeated Congress nominee Bhikhabhai Rabari by 30,630 votes, securing 55,481 votes against 24,851. The by-election was necessitated following the death of senior BJP MLA and former minister Yogesh Patel. Polling in the constituency witnessed a turnout of 37.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress retained the Datia Assembly seat, with Ghanshyam Singh defeating BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,056 votes. The bypoll was held after the disqualification of sitting MLA Rajendra Bharti following his conviction in a cheating case. Datia recorded the highest voter turnout among the three constituencies at 71.44 per cent.
While the results do not significantly alter the political balance in Gujarat or Madhya Pradesh, Kishor's victory in Bankipur is being seen as a major political breakthrough that could reshape Bihar's political landscape ahead of the next Assembly elections.
Follow us
