After BJP's Shock Bankipur Defeat, Prashant Kishor Has A Message For PM Modi: ‘It’s A Wake-Up Call’

Published 4 August 2026 · politics

After BJP's Shock Bankipur Defeat, Prashant Kishor Has A Message For PM Modi: ‘It’s A Wake-Up Call’ Published By, Last Updated: August 04, 2026, 09:30

After BJP's Shock Bankipur Defeat, Prashant Kishor Has A Message For PM Modi: ‘It’s A Wake-Up Call’ Published By, Last Updated: August 04, 2026, 09:30 IST Prashant Kishor called Bihar bypoll results a "wake-up call" for PM Narendra Modi, urging focus on education, jobs, and curbing migration. Prashant Kishor wins the election in Bankipur bypolls. After delivering a stunning upset in the BJP’s Bankipur stronghold in the Bihar bypolls on Monday, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor termed the verdict a “wake-up call" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the state needs a leadership focused on education, jobs and curbing migration. “This is a wake-up call for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bihar needs a chief minister who can improve education, create jobs and stop migration. Our objective is not to become MLAs for contracts but to ensure Bihar’s development," Kishor said. Kishor Rules Out Possibility Of Any Alliance Ruling out any possibility of joining hands with established political parties, Kishor said Jan Suraaj would continue to chart an independent course in Bihar politics and that its only alliance would be with the people of the state. “We shall have no alliance. Our alliance shall be with the people of Bihar. You should see that the people of Bankipur have voted for us, giving up on established parties," he said when asked whether his party would reconsider its stand of contesting elections on its own.

The Jan Suraaj chief, who defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar by more than 19,000 votes, said his victory was made possible not just by his party workers but also by disgruntled supporters of the BJP, Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). “I would like to thank my active supporters as well as those who backed me in the by-election, despite not being with Jan Suraaj. I received support from people in BJP, Congress and RJD, who were unhappy with the state of affairs in their party," Kishor said. Bypoll Influenced By Gen Z Protests? The former election strategist, whose fledgling party had failed to win a seat in last year’s Bihar Assembly polls, also said the “atmosphere created by Gen Z protests" may have influenced the bypoll outcome, though he acknowledged there was no evidence that young voters had turned out in large numbers. “But there is nothing to show that young electors had voted in large numbers in Bankipur. It is unfortunate, but that is the reality," he said, referring to the less than 35% voter turnout recorded on polling day. Kishor, making his electoral debut, described the result as a verdict against Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, alleging that educated voters had rejected his leadership. ‘Mandate Against CM Samrat Choudhary’ The IPAC founder, who quit political consultancy in 2021 to launch Jan Suraaj, said the mandate was “essentially against Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, against whom I have nothing personal, but who is detested by educated people of Bihar because of criminal antecedents and lack of qualifications".