As poll strategist-turned politician and founder of Jan Suraaj Party Prashant Kishor marked a remarkable win in BJP's Bankipur bastion in bypolls on Monday, he shared a message for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling the BJP's defeat a ‘wake-up call’ for him.
“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.
PK rejects possibility of alliance
Following the party's debut win, Kishor also rejected any possibility of JSP's political alliance.
"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," Kishor was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
He said he would not make tall promises like converting Bankipur into Bengaluru, but as an MLA, he would try to improve things, and changes will be there for all to see in a few months.
Also read: WhatsApp reacts as multiple accounts, including in India, put under review
{{/usCountry}}Also read: WhatsApp reacts as multiple accounts, including in India, put under review
{{/usCountry}}Kishor said his party's victory in the Bankipur assembly bypoll was made possible "with backing of" disgruntled supporters of BJP, Congress and RJD, while Gen Z protests may also have played a role.
Gen Z protests as cause of BJP loss?
The role of paper leaks and the subsequent student protests, also called Gen Z protests, in BJP's defeat has also been acknowledged by some BJP leaders.
“There are many coaching centres in Bankipur, and overall the number of students appearing for competitive examinations who are from Bihar is high. The issue has a strong resonance on the ground,” a BJP leader told HT.
The leaders also pointed at caste factor and drifting away of women voters as possible reason for the BJP's defeat.
Also read: ‘Dragged, stabbed within 40 seconds’: Inside Faridabad teacher's brutal murder at school
The byelection, seen as prestige battle for the BJP that won the assembly polls in November 2025, was chief minister Samrat Choudhary's first electoral after he took charge from Nitish Kumar, who moved to the Rajya Sabha.
In Bankipur, Kishor defeated the BJP's first-time candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha by 19,324 votes. The seat had been held by BJP chief Nitin Nabin since its inception in 2010. This was also JSP's first poll win after it failed to win any of the 238 seats it contested in the 2025 assembly elections and secured just 4% of the votes.