PK-O: Prashant Kishor stuns BJP in Bankipur, first poll win for Jan Suraaj
And finally, Prashant Kishor can rest easy tonight. After months of relentless campaigning, door-to-door outreach and countless hours on the ground, the Jan Suraaj founder
And finally, Prashant Kishor can rest easy tonight. After months of relentless campaigning, door-to-door outreach and countless hours on the ground, the Jan Suraaj founder has his reward. On Monday, Kishor scripted history by securing his party's maiden electoral victory, defeating the BJP in the high-stakes Bankipur Assembly bypoll and ending its uninterrupted 35-year hold over one of its strongest bastions in Bihar. Read Full Story Kishor defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha by 18,953 votes, polling 63,203 votes against Sinha's 44,250, while RJD's Rekha Gupta finished a distant third with 14,085 votes. Having surged ahead in the early counting trends, Kishor steadily widened his lead, with his victory becoming virtually certain by the 10th round of counting out of a total of 31 rounds. EARLY CAMPAIGN PAID OFF The victory capped months of groundwork by the Jan Suraaj chief, who hit the campaign trail nearly two months before the BJP and the RJD launched their full-fledged election efforts. During this period, Kishor held public meetings, conducted extensive door-to-door outreach and built a booth-level organisation across the constituency, giving his fledgling party a head start over its rivals.
The bypoll itself was necessitated by the Bhojpur encounter in which Bharat Tiwari was killed. Throughout the campaign, Kishor repeatedly raised the issue at public meetings, while also projecting the election as a "referendum on the Samrat Choudhary government". His campaign focused heavily on employment, education and governance, with a special emphasis on first-time and Gen Z voters. The BJP, meanwhile, treated the contest as a prestige battle, deploying around 40 star campaigners and thousands of party workers to retain the seat. Several senior leaders campaigned extensively in Bankipur during the final phase of the election. BANKIPUR WILL SEE CHANGES: PK Speaking to reporters after his victory became clear, Kishor said his immediate priority was to honour the trust reposed in him by the people of Bankipur. "Our first priority after this victory is to honour the blessings and trust that the people of Bankipur have placed in us. We will do everything we can to improve Bankipur. You will begin to see those changes over the next two to three months," he said.
Tempering expectations, Kishor said his election as an MLA would not transform Bankipur "into Bengaluru overnight", but assured residents that visible improvements would begin to take shape within the next few months. MESSAGE TO BJP LEADERSHIP Kishor also claimed the verdict had sent a clear political message to the BJP leadership. "The people of Bankipur have sent a clear message to the BJP leadership: 'Please appoint a good person as the Chief Minister of Bihar.' If the BJP wants to replace Samrat Choudhary with another leader from the Kushwaha community, that is entirely its decision. We have no objection. But whoever is chosen should be a capable and upright person from the Kushwaha community. Bihar must progress under all circumstances. It does not matter which individual wins or which party forms the government. What truly matters is the development of Bihar," he said. BJP ACCEPTS VERDICT, PROMISES REVIEW Reacting to the result, Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi congratulated Kishor in advance and said the party would undertake a detailed review to understand the reasons behind its defeat.
The BriefWire