Bankipur By‑poll Result Shows Setback for BJP and RJD

In the latest Bihar by‑poll, the Jan Suraj Party’s Prashant Kishor defeated both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bankipur. Kishor obtained 64,151 votes, while BJP’s Neeraj Kumar Sinha received 44,827 votes, and RJD’s Rekha Kumari managed only 14,273 votes. The loss marks a rare breach in a BJP stronghold that had never been overturned since 1995.

The BJP’s internal scramble to field a replacement candidate after the withdrawal of Abhishek Bunti contributed to the setback. State BJP chief Sanjay Saravagi acknowledged the vote as a clear message from citizens, promising a review of the party’s strategy ahead of the next state elections.