Jan Suraaj Party founder and former poll strategist Prashant Kishor is in spotlight since Sunday, after he threw his hat in the ring for the by-election to the Bankipur assembly seat in Bihar. The seat has long been a bastion for BJP President Nitin Nabin but has fallen vacant ever since he became a Rajya Sabha MP.
Prashant Kishor's victory in this seat would be a big boost for the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), which drew a blank in the Bihar Assembly elections last year.
However, his contest has drawn mixed reactions, with the BJP dismissing the bid, and Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha calling it a “dhamaka”.
Why did Prashant Kishor choose Bankipur?
While Kishor announced his Bankipur contest on Sunday, speculation of his move had been around since May.
Kishor, who was earlier set to contest the Bihar Assembly elections, opted out days before polls citing a mutual decision by his party. While he has steered many parties towards a victory before, this would be the first time Prashant Kishor will be entering the poll fray.
As the ex-poll strategist announced his candidature on Sunday, he called it a "referendum" on the popularity of the BJP-led government in the state. "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," Kishor said.
{{/usCountry}}As the ex-poll strategist announced his candidature on Sunday, he called it a "referendum" on the popularity of the BJP-led government in the state. "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," Kishor said.
{{/usCountry}}He also accused Nitin Nabin of abandoning the constituency at the first chance he got to enter the Parliament. "Yes, I know that the BJP considers Bankipur as its stronghold. Voters here have repeatedly reposed their trust in Nitin Nabin. But Nitin Nabin took no time in forgetting them. He abandoned the seat at the first opportunity to enter Parliament", he told news agency PTI.
BJP downplays Kishor's bid, Shatrughan Sinha reacts
Nitin Nabin has been elected from the Bankipur seat five teams, which makes the BJP hopeful of its chances again, despite the BJP President not being in the fray. Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday expressed confidence in the party and said that Kishor stood no chance.
"Prashant Kishor has contested elections before as well. His face has already been exposed," Begusarai MP Giriraj Singh told reporters here. Prashant Kishor was set to contest the Raghopur seat in the Bihar Assembly elections last year, but decided not to do it days before the elections.
Meanwhile, Trinamool MP Shatrughan Sinha had a different reaction to Prashant Kishor's candidature, one that he referred to as a “political dhamaka”. Looking at the development from the lens of a ‘Bihari Babu’, Sinha wrote on X: The most deserving, visionary, an intellectual par excellence, a man of the masses, most loved, admired & talked about personality in totality Prashant Kishor at last has jumped into the fray and has created a real sensation, in political circle and in public, all over the country by entering into the By-elections, Patna, Bihar."
He also said that he found Kishor's move interesting and said that the present times call for unity, but didn't expand on what he meant by it.
In the 2025 elections in Bihar, Kishor's party JSP contested 238 of 243 assembly seats and failed to win a single one. Its overall vote share was over 3%.