0 months ago
Jan Suraaj Party's Prashant Kishor Stuns BJP in Bankipur By-Election
In India, there is a state called Bihar where people vote to choose their leaders.
For a long time, two big groups — the BJP and the RJD — were the main choices for voters.
A man named Prashant Kishor started a new group called the Jan Suraaj Party.
Recently, a special election was held in a place called Bankipur.
This new group won that election, and it beat the big BJP party.
People were very surprised because the BJP had held that seat for almost thirty years.
Many different kinds of voters, like students and people from many communities, chose the new party this time.
Some voters were upset about exam cheating, which people call paper leaks, and other problems.
So they decided to give the new party a chance.
This shows that some people want a new choice beyond the two old parties.
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) won the Bankipur assembly by-poll with 49.2% of the vote, defeating the BJP.
The BJP's vote share collapsed from 62.7% in the 2025 election to 34.4%, while the RJD fell from 29.6% to 11%.
The BJP, which won the seat by 51,936 votes in 2025, lost this time by over 19,000 votes — a swing of about 71,000 votes against the incumbent.
JSP gained votes across every social group tracked, with swings ranging from roughly 29 points among Kayasthas to 67 points among Muslim voters.
Analysts see the result as a signal that voters are moving beyond the BJP-RJD binary, with upper-caste, Muslim, and youth voters citing issues such as paper leaks, UGC norms, and the Bharat Tiwari encounter.
- Who
- Prashant Kishor and his Jan Suraaj Party, which defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), whose national president Nitin Nabin represented the Bankipur seat.
- What
- The Jan Suraaj Party won the Bankipur assembly by-election with 49.2% of the vote, causing a massive swing against both the BJP and the RJD.
- Where
- Bankipur constituency in Bihar, India.
- When
- The by-poll was held in 2026, about a year after the 2025 Bihar assembly election.
- Why
- Voters across caste and community lines — including upper-caste groups unhappy over issues such as the Bharat Tiwari encounter, UGC norms and paper leak protests, Muslim voters, and youth — shifted to the JSP, which pitched itself as an aspirational alternative to the entrenched BJP-RJD rivalry.
Key facts
- Winning party
- Jan Suraaj Party (JSP)
- JSP vote share
- 49.2%
- BJP vote share
- 34.4% (down from 62.7% in 2025)
- RJD vote share
- 11% (down from 29.6% in 2025)
- Margin swing
- From BJP win by 51,936 votes in 2025 to JSP win by over 19,000 votes
- BJP hold on seat
- Nearly three decades
- Largest community swing
- +67 points among Muslim voters
- Youth support for JSP
- Up to 60% of 18-29 voters (per local reports)






