2 min readPatnaUpdated: Aug 3, 2026 11:12 AM IST
As the counting of votes polled in the Assembly by-election held in Bihar’s Bankipur is underway, early trends show that Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder is ahead of its rivals in the seat that the BJP had previously occupied.
At the end of the third round of counting, Kishor leads with 5032 votes, with a 1,162-vote margin over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Neeraj Kumar Sinha (3,870 votes). With 767 votes, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Rekha Gupta is trailing, 4,265 votes behind Kishor.
Why the Bankipur bypoll is significant
The Bankipur by-election was held on July 30, 2026 (Thursday) and has garnered widespread interest across the nation because of poll strategist-turned-politician Kishor’s direct debut as a candidate from the long-standing BJP fortress.
The bypoll in Bankipur was necessitated after the sitting BJP MLA Nitin Nabin vacated the seat after his election to the Rajya Sabha.
What Prashant Kishor had said about his debut
Kishor earlier said that he was not looking for a “safe” option to contest his first election as a candidate and had chosen to fight it out in the BJP stronghold, to send a message that Bihar’s voters should elect their representatives. moving beyond caste and religion. He had also asked people to stop casting votes out of fear of either Lalu Prasad Yadav or the BJP.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Kishor had said: “When people start their electoral politics, they look for safe seats for themselves… I am doing the opposite because I am telling the people of Bihar that if Bihar is to change, they must vote beyond caste and religion. They must stop voting out of fear of Lalu for BJP, or fear of BJP for Lalu. To prove the point, I am explaining to the people of Bihar, I am contesting from a place where votes should not be sought in the name of caste or religion…”
About the Bankipur seat
Falling under the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, Bankipur has long been considered one of the BJP’s longest-established urban bastions in Bihar.
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BJP’s incumbent National President Nitin Nabin has represented the seat since 2010. Before him, his father Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha held it.