'No Vision': Why Prashant Kishor's Highly Anticipated Poll Debut In Bankipur Has Hit A Roadblock
'No Vision': Why Prashant Kishor's Highly Anticipated Poll Debut In Bankipur Has Hit A Roadblock Published By, Last Updated: July 16, 2026, 13:41 IST Leaders
'No Vision': Why Prashant Kishor's Highly Anticipated Poll Debut In Bankipur Has Hit A Roadblock Published By, Last Updated: July 16, 2026, 13:41 IST Leaders who switched to the BJP alleged that Jan Suraaj lacked a clear roadmap for Bihar and was overly centred around Kishor. Rapid Read Prashant Kishor Just days before Prashant Kishor’s first-ever electoral contest, his party Jan Suraaj has suffered a significant setback. Several of its senior leaders and former Assembly election candidates have crossed over to the BJP ahead of the high-stakes Bankipur Assembly bypoll, handing the poll strategist-turned-politician an early political challenge in what was expected to be his much-awaited electoral debut. Among those who have jumped ship are KC Sinha, Ritesh Ranjan, Braj Kishore Sinha and Gopal Singh. BJP leaders have used the defections to question Jan Suraaj’s future, with Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal claiming those leaving the party realised it had “no vision" and lacked ideological direction. “Our decision to join BJP was driven by national interest and a desire to contribute towards India’s global leadership," mathematician KC Sinha said. “When I contested on a Jan Suraaj ticket from Maner last year, I realised there was no vision there, only hollow talk. Above all, an arrogant person can never run an organisation. That is why we have returned to our home," Gopal Singh said, as quoted by NDTV. The timing could hardly have been worse for Kishor.
After spending over a decade scripting election victories for political heavyweights across party lines, the architect of campaigns for Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee and others is finally seeking a mandate in his own name. The Bankipur bypoll, scheduled for July 23, is being seen as the first real test of whether Kishor’s political appeal can translate into votes. The by-election was necessitated after BJP leader Nitin Nabin vacated the Bankipur Assembly seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha. What would ordinarily have been a routine bypoll has turned into one of Bihar’s most closely watched political contests because of Kishor’s decision to enter the fray. He is contesting against BJP’s Neeraj Kumar Sinha and RJD’s Rekha Gupta. For Kishor, the contest carries significance beyond winning a single Assembly seat. It marks the culmination of a political journey that began with the Jan Suraaj Abhiyan in 2022, when he embarked on a statewide padyatra covering thousands of kilometres across Bihar before formally launching the Jan Suraaj Party in October 2024. He repeatedly projected the movement as an alternative to both the NDA and the RJD-led Opposition, promising governance over caste politics. However, converting a political movement into an electoral organisation has proven difficult. In the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Jan Suraaj contested 238 of the state’s 243 seats but failed to win even one, securing just over 3 per cent of the vote share.
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