Bypolls: Prashant Kishor breaches BJP bastion of Bankipur, Cong wins Datia, BJP retains Manjalpur

In a significant political development, former poll strategist Prashant Kishor secured a historic victory in Bihar's Bankipur by-election, while the Congress retained Datia in Madhya Pradesh and the BJP held Manjalpur in Gujarat, offering crucial insights into the current political landscape.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday faced embarrassing defeats in assembly bypolls in Bankipur of Bihar, where Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor wrested the seat vacated by the ruling party chief Nitin Nabin, as well as in Madhya Pradesh's Datia, lending ammunition to the Opposition, which was quick to term it as the 'beginning of the end' of the saffron party.

While the opposition claimed that the result reflected the 'deep discontent' among the people with the BJP over issues like student protests on paper leaks, Ram temple donation theft and E20 petrol rollout, the saving grace for the ruling party was its win in Manjalpur assembly bypoll in Gujarat, though with a reduced margin.

Kishor's Message to BJP

Kishor made a historic electoral debut winning the by-poll for Bankipur assembly constituency, in a big blow to the BJP, which had held the seat since 1995.

The defeat, coming days after the massive Gen Z protests across the country, was even more stinging because the seat was last held by BJP president Nitin Nabin, whose elevation necessitated the by-poll on August 30.

Kishor, who got 64,151 votes, defeated BJP's Neeraj Kumar by 19,324 votes. Kumar garnered 44,827 votes. Rekha Gupta of the Rashtriya Janata Dal was a distant third with 14,273 votes.

A little less than 3.8 lakh voters, including 2 lakh men and 1.79 lakh women, were eligible to vote in the polls. The by-poll recorded a voter turnout of 34.30 per cent, down by more than seven per cent from the 41.45 per cent registered in the last assembly elections, held just nine months ago.

"The victory is a wake-up call for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who must install a new Chief Minister in place of Samrat Choudhary, a man with criminal antecedents," said Kishor, for whom it was a satisfying reversal of fortunes.

In the assembly elections, his party had failed to win any seats. Kishor had decided not to contest then.

The 49-year-old Jan Suraaj founder had entered the fray, announcing that he saw the by-election as a 'referendum' on the BJP-led government in the state.

Kishor, whose victory may help resurrect his fledgling outfit, also said, "On this occasion, besides thanking the common citizens, I would like to thank those who helped Jan Suraaj despite not being in the party."

BJP had hurriedly fielded Kumar after its candidate Abhishek "Bunty" pulled out at the eleventh hour, citing 'family reasons'.

The by-poll to the assembly seat was necessitated by the resignation of BJP national president Nitin Nabin, whose late father, Navin Chandra Sinha, began the party's winning streak in 1995, when the seat was known as 'Patna seat'.

Nabin had vacated the Bankipur seat in April, upon election to the Rajya Sabha, six months after having won it for the fifth time on the trot.

State BJP president Sanjay reacted to the humiliating defeat, saying, "We bow down before the will of the people. We shall draw lessons from the debacle, unlike our opponents who tend to blame every electoral loss of theirs on EVMs and the Election Commission."

Commending Kishor, Chief Minister Chaudhary said, "In the grand festival of democracy, the people have chosen Jan Suraaj in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll. I respect the people's verdict and extend my heartfelt congratulations to Prashant Kishor ji on his victory."

Kishor, who had first shot to fame for managing Modi's 2014 Lok Sabha campaign, has been a vocal critic of Chaudhary.

"Bihar cannot be treated as a factory that produces cheap labour. I do not promise that my becoming the MLA will make Bankipur on par with Bengaluru. But, when Gujarat, the home state of Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, is looking forward to having a bullet train, the people of Bihar certainly have a right to expect something better than passenger trains," said Kishor, amid screams of 'Jai Bihar', the Jan Suraaj Party's ubiquitous slogan.

Jan Suraaj supporters swarmed the streets and gathered in massive numbers at AN College, where the votes were counted. Kishor's wife, Jahnavi Das, who usually stays away from politics, also chose to be by her husband's side in his moment of glory.

"This victory belongs to the people of Bihar," said Das, who hails from Assam.

In the BJP camp, the exuberance on display in the morning, when hundreds of party supporters turned up at a city-based sweets shop to pick up 200 kg of laddoos they had ordered expecting a certain victory, gave way to shock and despondency as vote counting proceeded and the lead enjoyed by Kishor grew almost progressively with every round.

Kishor's victory was hailed as 'a lesson to the arrogant BJP' even by those outside his party, like Janshakti Janata Dal president Tej Pratap Yadav, the estranged elder son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist-Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, whose party is an Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) partner.

Polling, held on July 30, followed days of intensive campaigning by Kishor as well as the BJP, with both sides repeatedly accusing each other of electoral malpractices and approaching the Election Commission over the issue.

"The verdict in Bankipur must be viewed in the backdrop of the wider dissatisfaction with the BJP, which recently got reflected in the students' protests. Of course, credit must also be given to Prashant Kishor, who displayed enormous energy and organisational skills," said veteran socialist leader Shivanand Tiwary, who had been one of the foremost participants in the 'JP movement' of the 1970s and, in a political career spanning many decades, has been with parties like the RJD and the Janata Dal-United.

RJD spokesman Chitaranjan Gagan, whose party has often charged Kishor with being the 'B team of BJP', came out with a statement expressing delight over the verdict.

"For us, the defeat of the BJP in its stronghold is of greater importance than who won", said Gagan.

Congress Defeats BJP in Datia

The Congress on Monday retained the Datia assembly seat, with Ghanshyam Singh trouncing nearest rival Ashutosh Tiwari of the BJP by 6,016 votes in the bypoll held amid students' stir and differences in the saffron camp after senior leader Narottam Mishra was denied a ticket.

Congress leaders linked the victory to 'awakening' among students and other sections of the country, calling it the 'beginning of the end of the BJP rule'.

At the end of all 15 rounds of counting, Singh secured 66,757 votes, while Tiwari polled 60,741 votes.

Azad Samaj Party candidate Damodar Yadav finished third by bagging 22,527 votes, District Election Officer and Datia District Magistrate Swapnil Wankhade told PTI.

A total of 21 candidates were in the fray, including Ghanshyam Singh and Ashutosh Tiwari.

The bypoll, held on July 30, was necessitated after a Delhi court in April sentenced sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti to three years' imprisonment in a cheating case, leading to the termination of his assembly membership.

BJP Vows Action Against Rebels

MP BJP president Hemant Khandelwal said the party would review the poll outcome and take action based on its findings.

"Discipline is paramount in the BJP. All our workers are equal. The party will take action based on the conclusions reached after the review," he said, hinting at internal sabotage in the BJP camp.

Khandelwal insisted that every BJP worker, irrespective of the position he or she held, was expected to abide by the party's discipline.

"For the Bharatiya Janata Party, discipline is supreme. Every party worker, regardless of the post they hold, is expected to work within the party's discipline.

"If anyone is found guilty (of violating discipline), appropriate action will certainly be taken against them," cautioned Khandelwal, who was appointed the state BJP president in July last year.

His statement is significant given the BJP lagged behind Congress in booth number 121, situated in the area of Narottam Mishra. The Congress candidate received 291 votes and the BJP 264.

In Bhopal, celebrations broke out at the state Congress headquarters with party workers distributing sweets and dancing to the beating of drums.

Earlier in the day, as Tiwari's defeat loomed, silence descended on the bustling state BJP headquarters.

Putting up a brave front, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the BJP candidate polled 1,700 more votes compared to the 2023 assembly elections (when Mishra was defeated by Congress's Bharti).

Pointing out that the Congress had won the Datia seat in the last assembly elections as well, Yadav said, "This is a different matter. We secured 1,700 more votes than in the last assembly elections (in 2023). Along with the 2023 assembly elections, the BJP won all 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It is the first time the BJP achieved this feat since Independence."

An elated Ghanshyam Singh declared that the verdict marks the beginning of the end of the BJP's rule.

His priority would be to promote communal harmony in Datia and end political vendetta.

"I will work to end gambling and betting rackets in the constituency," the newly-elected Congress leader added.

Congress veteran and former MP chief minister Kamal Nath attributed the electoral win to the hard work of party workers, saying the people of Datia refused to 'bow to the pressure of power'.

"This victory is not limited to a by-election. It's a sign of the change taking place in the country and Madhya Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi has awakened students in the country, and every section of society is agitating (against the BJP)," Nath said.

Datia Voters Exposed BJP's Corruption, Arrogance: Cong

Alleging that every section of society is troubled by the BJP's misrule and people are yearning to throw out the 'corrupt regime', Nath said this change has begun from Datia, the city of Maa Pitambara.

Former MP Digvijaya Singh thanked the electorate of Datia and hailed the committed cadres of Congress, who he said didn't abandon the party despite hardships and chose to endure them.

State Congress president Jitu Patwari described it as a victory for the people of Datia, a clarion call for the 2028 assembly elections, and the result of the collective efforts of Congress leaders.

Patwari told reporters that Datia voters have exposed the corruption, terror, and arrogance of the BJP-led government.

He said the people of Datia have laid the foundation for change and the BJP's departure, expressing confidence that Congress will return to power after the 2028 assembly elections.

"The people's mandate shows appreciation of Rahul Gandhi's leadership. The impact of protests by Gen-Z in the country and Rahul Gandhi's strong support to students were clearly visible in the elections," he said, crediting the victory to collective efforts of Congress's leaders.

He said Rahul Gandhi has 'awakened' students in the country, and every section of society is agitating.

Opposition leader Umang Singhar said the bypoll mandate is the result of hard work, struggle, and unity displayed by workers and leaders of Congress.

The bypoll was held amid heartburn among Mishra's supporters after the party denied him a ticket and picked Ashutosh Tiwari.

Mishra's supporters had clashed with police and blocked a national highway earlier in July.

Mishra later shared a stage with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, urging party workers to rally behind Tiwari, who replaced him.

At Tiwari's nomination rally in Datia, Mishra turned emotional as senior BJP leaders, including CM Yadav, sought to console him.

Political analyst Rakesh Dixit said the BJP's defeat was not just a loss of one assembly seat for the ruling party, but a huge setback for the entire party machinery.

Referring to Khandelwal's emphasis on disciplinary action, Dixit said this is a tacit admission that the BJP suffered the humiliation owing to sabotage.

"Needle of suspicion unmistakably points to Mishra, given his supporters' revolt in the run-up to the campaign," he added.

With this win, the Congress tally in the 230-member Assembly has gone up to 65. The BJP has 164 MLAs, while one legislator belongs to a tribal political outfit..

Gujarat's Manjalpur Contest

In Gujarat, the BJP retained the Manjalpur assembly seat in Vadodara district, with the party candidate Satish Govindbhai Patel winning the bypoll, defeating his Congress challenger and former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari by 30,630 votes.

According to the Election Commission, Patel secured 55,481 votes, while Rabari polled 24,851 votes after all 20 rounds of counting were completed. Patel and Rabari were the only candidates in the fray in the saffron stronghold.

Notably, the BJP's margin of victory reduced in the current contest compared to 1,00,754 in the 2022 assembly elections, when the saffron party scored a record victory in Gujarat.

Thanking the voters after his victory, Patel, a former councillor of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, said the people had once again reaffirmed their faith in the BJP.

His opponent, Rabari, a Gujarat vice president and former minister, alleged the misuse of government machinery to ensure his defeat.

"I sincerely thank the people from the bottom of my heart for preserving Manjalpur as a fortress of the Bharatiya Janata Party," Patel told reporters.

Asked about his priorities as the MLA, Patel said a BJP worker is always prepared to serve the people, especially the needy and the marginalised.

"We will carry this work forward," he added.

Rabari alleged widespread violations of the model code of conduct during the poll campaign.

"The entire government machinery, including ministers, was deployed against me. There was open violation of the model code of conduct, and every possible tactic was used to defeat me. I am deeply saddened by the manner in which the code was violated," he alleged.

Claiming that the election was not fought on a level playing field, the Congress leader said, "They (BJP) openly celebrated, beat drums and intimidated my workers, which affected voter turnout in my favour. I could not contest the election in the completely democratic manner in which it should have been fought. I have not received justice."

There was no immediate response from the BJP or the Election Commission on Rabari's allegations. Counting of votes began at 8 am on the premises of Bhavan's School in Makarpura area of Vadodara city amid tight security.

The bypoll, held on July 30, was necessitated by the death of senior BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Yogesh Patel in June following a prolonged illness.

A low voter turnout of 37.5 per cent was recorded, with only around 82,000 of the 2.19 lakh registered voters exercising their franchise. With the victory, the BJP's strength in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly has gone up to 162.

The Congress has 12 MLAs, followed by the Aam Aadmi Party, which has five MLAs, Independents (two) and Samajwadi Party (one).