Prashant Kishor is all set to make his electoral debut by contesting the byelection in Bihar's Bankipur assembly seat. He announced the decision on Sunday, July 5 and said that the upcoming bypoll is going to be a “referendum on the working of the two-month-old government of Samrat Choudhary”.
Patna: Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor being welcomed by supporters after he announced his decision to contest in the by-election to the Bankipur assembly seat, in Patna, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (PTI)
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"If the BJP wins, I will have no hesitation in conceding that they continue to enjoy public support. If we win, it shall be for them to read the writing on the wall," Kishor said, who will be fighting on his Jan Suraaj party's ticket.
This big announcement by the political strategist-turned-politician came after his fairly new party failed to open its account in Bihar in last year's assembly polls. If Kishor wins, he would be the lone Jan Suraaj MLA in Bihar's assembly.
Kishor hailed the people of Bankipur as Bihar's “richest” and “most educated” and urged them to vote for him.
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Kishor hailed the people of Bankipur as Bihar's “richest” and “most educated” and urged them to vote for him.
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"The people of Bankipur are the richest and the most educated in Bihar. Let them vote for the best. If they feel they can repose their trust in me, I urge them to vote for me... Even as the lone MLA of my party, I shall outweigh the remaining 242 ones in the assembly," he said.
During the announcement of his name, Kishor maintained that according to him, BJP's Samrat Choudhary became Bihar's chief minister “without people's mandate” after the National Democratic Alliance, including the BJP, Nitish Kumar-led Janta Dal (United) and other parties, won by a landslide in November last year.
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While Nitish Kumar was appointed the chief minister of Bihar after the poll win, he later resigned and moved to Rajya Sabha and BJP's Samrat Choudhary took over the top job.
Voting in Bankipur will be held on July 30 and the results will be announced on August 3. The filing of nomination will start on Monday, July 6, till July 13.
Nikita Sharma is a Senior Content Producer with Hindustan Times. She is a Delhi-based digital journalist with five years of experience writing and editing news stories across beats including crime, politics, tech, trends and much more, both national and international. At Hindustan Times, she is part of the news team and focuses on breaking news, keeping a track of what is happening where, and chasing ever-developing news stories. She has a penchant for covering crime, geopolitics, and Indian politics with a keen eye for stories often overlooked in the daily news cycle. At Hindustan Times, she has extensively covered several key events including the US Presidential elections, Air India plane crash, Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, US’ tariff war, and others. As a Delhi aficionado, she particularly enjoys roaming and writing about the national capital — its heritage, food, art and culture, and the many problems that come with it — the pollution, waterlogging, traffic, and more. Nikita did her Bachelor in Journalism and Mass Communication from GGSIPU and started working as a digital journalist in 2021. During her first stint, she covered hyperlocal news at a Delhi-based newsroom, writing and editing stories on builder-buyer conflicts, civic issues such as potholes, waterlogging, lack of facilities at hospitals in Delhi, crippling of the city during peak monsoon season. She also wrote features covering Delhi’s art exhibitions, heritage walks, artist profiles, museums, classical Hindustani music concerts and dance shows. She entered mainstream news in 2023 and has previously worked at NDTV.
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Home/India News/Making poll debut, Prashant Kishor's appeal to Bankipur's ‘richest, educated’ people
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