Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor moved closer to securing victory in the Bankipur Assembly by-election on Monday, extending his lead over BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha as counting of votes entered its final stages.
The political strategist-turned-politician, making his electoral debut, maintained a comfortable advantage throughout the counting process. After the 28th of the scheduled 31 rounds, Kishor had polled 59,213 votes, leading BJP’s Neeraj Kumar Sinha by 19,419 votes. Sinha had secured 39,794 votes, while RJD candidate Rekha Kumari remained a distant third with 13,260 votes.
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Earlier in the day, Kishor had crossed the 38,000-vote mark while Sinha had polled around 26,000 votes, with the lead steadily increasing as additional rounds were completed.
Counting began at 8 am amid tight security, with political observers closely watching whether Kishor could wrest the prestigious Bankipur seat from the BJP, which has held the constituency since 1995.
The bypoll assumed significance as it marked Prashant Kishor’s first electoral contest after launching the Jan Suraaj Party. The election was necessitated after former MLA Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his elevation as the BJP’s national president and his subsequent entry into the Rajya Sabha from Bihar.
As Kishor’s lead continued to grow, BJP leaders acknowledged the trend and reiterated their commitment to respecting the democratic process.
Reacting to the counting trends, Bihar minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said the BJP accepted the people’s verdict and would conduct an internal review of the result.
“This is the land of democracy, and we respect the people’s mandate. The Bharatiya Janata Party has always stood by democratic values. Unlike the opposition, we do not blame the Election Commission or the EVMs. We believe in democracy, respect constitutional institutions, and accept the people’s verdict,” he said.
The minister added that the party would analyse the outcome to identify shortcomings and improve its performance in future elections.
While the Bankipur contest attracted the most attention, counting was also underway for assembly by-elections in other states.
In Gujarat’s Manjalpur constituency, BJP candidate Satish Patel was leading over Congress nominee Bhikhabhai Rabari. Meanwhile, in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia seat, the Congress appeared to be gaining the upper hand, with its candidate Ghanshyam Singh leading BJP’s Ashutosh Tiwari.
The Bankipur bypoll witnessed over 34 per cent voter turnout and featured 26 candidates. However, the contest largely evolved into a three-cornered battle between Jan Suraaj’s Prashant Kishor, BJP’s Neeraj Kumar Sinha and RJD’s Rekha Kumari.
With only a few rounds of counting remaining, all eyes remain on Bankipur as Kishor looks set to register his first electoral victory and hand the BJP a significant setback in one of its traditional strongholds.
