Prashant Kishor Strengthens Lead In Bankipur Bypoll During Vote Counting
Prashant Kishor widens advantage in Bankipur bypoll counting.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor strengthened his lead in the Bankipur Assembly by-election on Monday as counting progressed, emerging ahead after 12 rounds of vote counting. Contesting on the 'School Bag' symbol, Kishor secured 23,756 votes, leading BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha by 6,646 votes. The counting began at 8 a.m. at AN College in Patna and is being conducted in 30 rounds across 14 tables.
According to the latest trends, BJP's Neeraj Kumar Sinha was in second place with 17,110 votes, while RJD candidate Rekha Gupta remained a distant third with 4,850 votes. The widening margin has intensified political interest in the by-election, particularly as Bankipur has long been regarded as a BJP stronghold. A total of 25 candidates are contesting the seat, with nearly 1.30 lakh votes being counted from 422 polling stations.
The by-election was necessitated after BJP leader Nitin Nabin resigned from the Assembly seat following his appointment as the party's national president and election to the Rajya Sabha. The constituency recorded a voter turnout of 34.30 per cent during polling held on July 30. Although several candidates are in the fray, the contest has largely evolved into a three-cornered fight involving Prashant Kishor, the BJP and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
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Political leaders continued to express confidence despite the ongoing trends. Bihar Assembly Speaker and senior BJP leader Dr Prem Kumar described the counting trends as part of the normal electoral process, stating that the final outcome would become clearer later in the day. JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan also projected confidence in an NDA victory, maintaining that the alliance would prevail on the strength of its development agenda despite the BJP candidate trailing.
The BJP has reportedly arranged around two quintals of laddoos in anticipation of a victory, reflecting confidence within the party even as Kishor maintained a comfortable lead. Tight security remains in place around the counting centre, with more than 300 security personnel deployed, drone surveillance monitoring the area and traffic restrictions enforced on key roads surrounding AN College. With 12 rounds completed, attention is now focused on whether Prashant Kishor can maintain his advantage and secure a landmark victory for the Jan Suraaj Party in one of the BJP's traditional bastions.
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