From a big zero for his Jan Suraaj Party in the 2025 Bihar assembly polls to a breakthrough win on his own electoral debut, Prashant Kishor has pulled off a swift political turnaround in less than a year. His Bankipur bypoll victory on August 3 has ended the BJP's three-decade hold over one of its strongest bastions in Bihar.
The bypoll was widely seen as the first real test of whether Kishor could convert more than a decade of political strategising into direct electoral success. Much changed in Bihar between Jan Suraaj’s rout in the 2025 polls and Kishor’s breakthrough win, from Nitin Nabin’s rise in the BJP and the vacancy it created in Bankipur, to Nitish Kumar’s exit as chief minister and the emergence of a BJP-led government in the state.
Also Read: 'Bankipur won't become Bengaluru overnight': Prashant Kishor after big win in Bihar
Dec 2025–Mar 2026: Nitin Nabin’s rise opens a window
The first turning point came with BJP leader Nitin Nabin’s elevation within the party. He was appointed BJP national working president in December 2025 and became the party’s national president in January 2026.
After being elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar in March 2026, Nabin resigned as MLA from Bankipur on March 30, triggering a bypoll in a constituency represented by him and, before him, his father Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha for more than three decades.
{{/usCountry}}After being elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar in March 2026, Nabin resigned as MLA from Bankipur on March 30, triggering a bypoll in a constituency represented by him and, before him, his father Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha for more than three decades.
{{/usCountry}}For Kishor, the vacancy presented a new opportunity after he had decided not to contest in the assembly elections as he preferred to campaign statewide instead.
Track Bankipur bypoll election results here
Apr 2026: Nitish Kumar exits CM chair
The next major shift came in April, when Nitish Kumar resigned as Bihar chief minister after being elected to the Rajya Sabha, ending his decades-long tenure at the helm of the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary succeeded him, becoming the BJP’s first chief minister in Bihar.
Jul 5, 2026: Kishor decides to contest himself
Unlike the 2025 elections, when he stayed out of the electoral fray and campaigned for Jan Suraaj candidates, Kishor decided to contest the Bankipur bypoll himself.
The former election strategist repeatedly described the contest as “not just an election to choose an MLA” but a referendum on the Bihar government, arguing that he, even as a lone Jan Suraaj legislator, could amplify the Opposition’s voice inside the assembly.
Jul 10, 2026: BJP’s last-minute candidate switch
The BJP’s campaign took an unexpected turn just days before nominations closed. The party first fielded Abhishek Kumar Sinha, who filed his nomination papers in the presence of senior BJP leaders. Less than 30 hours later, however, Sinha withdrew, citing “family reasons”. The BJP then replaced him with Neeraj Kumar Sinha, but did not publicly explain the abrupt change beyond the withdrawal letter. The reason cited by his family was that his father was named in a case linked to the 1990s' fodder scam that was one of the major weapons for the BJP against RJD's Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Oct 2022 - Aug 3, 2026: From padyatra to political win
Kishor’s Bankipur victory capped a political journey that began well before the 2025 elections. In October 2022, he launched the Jan Suraaj Padyatra, a state-wide foot march that took him across Bihar over nearly two years. He eventually converted the movement into the Jan Suraaj Party ahead of the 2025 Assembly polls.
Addressing supporters after his victory, Kishor struck a measured note, saying his immediate priority was to improve Bankipur rather than make grand promises. “My becoming an MLA won’t turn Bankipur into Bengaluru, but you will see some improvements happening here over the next two to three months,” he said, adding that visible changes would begin soon with the support and trust that voters had placed in him.
(With inputs from agencies)