Daijiworld Media Network - Patna

Patna, Aug 3: Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor made a promising start to his electoral career on Monday, taking an early lead over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha in the high-profile Bankipur Assembly by-election in Bihar.

According to early counting trends after the initial rounds, Kishor secured 6,269 votes, leading BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, who polled 5,124 votes, by 1,145 votes. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Rekha Gupta was in third place with 884 votes. Counting of votes, which began at 8 am at AN College in Patna under tight security, is continuing.

The bypoll is being closely watched as it marks Kishor's first direct electoral contest after launching the Jan Suraaj Party. A victory would represent a major political breakthrough for the former election strategist, while the BJP is seeking to retain a constituency it has held continuously since 1995.

The Bankipur seat fell vacant after BJP national president Nitin Nabin resigned as MLA following his election to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year. Nabin had represented the constituency for five consecutive terms and won the 2025 Assembly election by more than 50,000 votes with over 62 per cent of the vote.

Polling for the by-election was held on July 30, recording a voter turnout of around 34.3 per cent, significantly lower than the 41.45 per cent turnout registered during the 2025 Assembly election. A total of 26 candidates are in the fray.

The contest has attracted statewide attention as it is widely viewed as a test of Kishor's political appeal and the Jan Suraaj Party's prospects ahead of future elections. The BJP replaced its original nominee, Abhishek Kumar, with Neeraj Kumar Sinha after the former withdrew his nomination citing personal reasons.

The final result is expected later in the day after completion of all rounds of counting.