Prashant Kishor Secures Maiden Electoral Win in Bankipur By-election, BJP Suffers Setback

New Delhi: Following the defeat of the BJP in the Bankipur by-elections, Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal congratulated Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor on his win and declared that the result reflected deepening public discontent against the Centre government.

Prashant Kishor won by a margin of 19,324 votes, securing 64,151 votes, as the BJP's Neeraj Kumar trailed with 44,827 votes.

"The BJP has lost even the seat of its national president. Prashant Kishor ji has won from Bankipur with a huge margin. Heartiest congratulations to him," Kejriwal said on X, referring to the seat previously held by BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who had vacated it after being elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Kejriwal went on to argue that it is a result of people wanting a shift from the BJP. "The BJP's ground has completely slipped away. Fund theft, paper leaks, E20... There is deep discontent among the people towards the Modi government. The arrogance is breaking down. The people of the country have given a signal of change," he added.

The win marks Kishor's first electoral victory since he launched Jan Suraaj, and comes barely nine months after the party failed to open its account in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. The by-poll recorded a voter turnout of 34.24 per cent, according to the Election Commission.

For the BJP, the defeat is a far more significant setback than the loss of a single seat, as Bankipur had been held comfortably by the party since 1995. For over three decades, the constituency was effectively the political fiefdom of one family: first represented by BJP leader Navin Kishore Prasad Sinha, and continuously held for five consecutive terms by his son and now BJP national president Nitin Nabin, whose move to the Rajya Sabha triggered the bypoll in the first place.

In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Nabin had won Bankipur by a massive margin of over 50,000 votes. For Kishor to systematically dismantle that legacy in Nabin's own backyard delivers a severe blow to the ruling party's prestige.

The bypoll had drawn significant attention as it marked the electoral debut of Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor in what was seen as a BJP bastion.

After years as a legendary political strategist for other parties, Prashant Kishor launched Jan Suraaj to create an alternative political movement built around grassroots issues, education, and employment. Winning a premier urban constituency in his first direct electoral contest provides a massive validation for Jan Suraaj, establishing it as a formidable political force against both the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan.

Earlier in the day, Kishor had framed the result as something larger than a single assembly seat. "After winning the state elections, the BJP chose to give the leadership of Bihar to a person with criminal tendencies and questionable conduct. Such leadership is not acceptable to the people of Bihar," he said.