Jan Suraaj Party Founder Prashant Kishor took the oath as the Bankipur MLA in Patna on Monday, August 17, 2026.
Prashant Kishor's stunning Bankipur victory has broken the BJP's three-decade dominance in one of its safest urban strongholds, signalling a major political shift in Bihar.
Prashant Kishor, founder of Jan Suraaj Party, secured a significant victory in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll, breaching a BJP bastion, while independent candidates sharing names with Bihar's political stalwarts, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar, failed to make an impact and lost their security deposits.
JD-U supremo Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, a day after the BJP lost the Bankipur assembly by-election in Patna. The meeting, which included other JD-U leaders, occurred amidst recent political changes in Bihar, where Nitish Kumar had resigned as Chief Minister and a BJP leader took charge.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor secured a significant victory in the Bankipur assembly bypoll, defeating the BJP candidate by over 19,000 votes. Kishor attributed his win to support from disgruntled members of major parties and potentially Gen Z protests, while firmly rejecting any future political alliances. He claimed the mandate was a wake-up call for the BJP-led government in Bihar and its Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, giving his party its maiden presence in the state assembly.
The Bankipur assembly bypoll is a high-stakes electoral debut for Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor as he challenges the BJP in a constituency that has been a BJP stronghold for nearly two decades.
'It is a well calculated strategy of the BJP to hit the JSP and widely propagate that leaders have been leaving PK sensing his defeat in the bypoll.'
Political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party has secured its first seat in the Bihar Assembly, with Kishor winning the Bankipur bypoll in his electoral debut, stunning the BJP in its long-held bastion.
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishore has accused the ruling BJP and the state government of using police to harass his party workers, alleging that over 16 leaders were detained ahead of the Bankipur Assembly by-election. Despite the alleged intimidation, Kishore expressed "200 per cent" confidence in his victory.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has announced his decision to contest the Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar. He frames the bypoll as a "referendum" on the performance of the current BJP-led government under Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Kishor, a former poll strategist, aims to challenge the established parties in a seat traditionally held by the BJP.
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor made a stunning electoral debut by winning Bihar's Bankipur assembly seat, a long-held BJP bastion. Concurrently, the Congress retained the Datia assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, while the BJP successfully held onto the Manjalpur seat in Gujarat, showcasing mixed results for the ruling and opposition parties in these crucial by-elections.
Prashant Kishor and Dr Jahnavi Das first met while working on a United Nations public health initiative.
'I remember that Indira Gandhi was virtually worshipped as a goddess. The kind of power wielded by Indira Gandhi in the early 1970s was much more than what Modi does today, but in just three years down the line Indira Gandhi faced defeat.' 'So you cannot take people's sentiments for granted. That is a lesson that the BJP should learn.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NDA leaders reviewed India's progress in international sports and significant growth in youth employment opportunities at their weekly parliamentary meeting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers and leaders of the National Democratic Alliance allies on Tuesday attended the ruling coalition's weekly meeting of parliamentarians, where the absence of three Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) MPs stood out amid signs of differences within the 20-member group of Trinamool Congress rebels over its association with the alliance.
'Some people may not like what I am saying, but shortcomings have to be pointed out. These deficiencies should be rectified within the next three months.' 'This is Gorakhpur, where our CM himself resides. If such shortcomings exist here, then what will happen?'
After living in India's most palatial residence for 12 years, India's first President Dr Rajendra Prasad returned to his simple hut on the banks of the Ganga. He never owned a house of his lifetime.
The BJP has announced its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections across multiple states, including Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, and Haryana.
The BJP has announced the schedule for the election of the party's national president, with nominations to be filed on January 19 and the announcement of the new chief on January 20.
"While Sinha's age is 57 years in one list and 60 years in another. Is this not fraud and an age scam? He must have filled two different forms in two different assembly constituencies. He deliberately got two votes registered in two different places. If he did not personally sign both forms, then did the Election Commission create two different votes for him in two different assembly constituencies based on forged signatures? Will he receive two different notices, or are these rules only for the opposition leaders?" he alleged.
Newly appointed Bharatiya Janata Party national working president Nitin Nabin on Monday termed his elevation as a blessing of the party and claimed that it is the only political outfit that allows its grassroots workers to thrive.
BJP sources said the formal process to elect current party President J P Nadda's successor will begin in mid-January, following Makar Sankranti, with Nitin Nabin expected to be the frontrunner to file his nomination.
In the recent Bihar elections, a majority of state ministers from the ruling NDA secured victories in their respective constituencies, with only one minister losing their seat.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced it will contest all 243 seats in the Bihar assembly elections and released its first list of 11 candidates.
The ruling National Democratic Alliance on Friday secured a thumping majority in the Bihar Assembly, winning 202 seats in the 243-member House, as results for all the constituencies were declared by the Election Commission.
Following is the list of the major winners and losers of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in the Bihar assembly polls.
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party faces skepticism and challenges as it enters the Bihar Assembly elections, with critics questioning its experience and impact.
In the first phase, a total of 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as INDIA bloc's chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the BJP.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday sprang surprises with its first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar assembly polls, denying a ticket to Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav, a seven-term MLA, while fielding Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary in a direct election after over a decade.
The stage is set for the crucial first phase of the assembly elections in Bihar on Thursday, as 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance's (INDIA's) chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Having struck a seat-sharing deal, leaders of the Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party sat across the table in Patna on Monday to thrash out, among other things, constituencies they planned to swap or give up in favour of smaller allies in Bihar.
The first phase of Bihar assembly elections saw a moderate pace of polling across 121 constituencies, with 53.77% voter turnout reported till 3 pm. Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported. Key leaders are in the fray for both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.
'People may think that because my father was in the film world and politics, things are easy for me.' 'It is not easy at all.'
'The uneducated think of their rights as a gift. This is deeply troubling.' 'If they were educated they could claim what is rightfully theirs.'
They entered the Bihar poll battle to protect and carry forward their fathers' political legacy, but many of them could not win their own seat though some tasted victory.
Maharashtra has recorded the maximum number of 568 Omicron cases, followed by Delhi (382), Kerala (185), Rajasthan (174), Gujarat (152), and Tamil Nadu (121).
Here's how the biggies fared in Bihar elections 2020.
The 31-year-old is seeking re-election from Raghopur in Vaishali district which he had wrested back for his party from the Bharatiya Janata Party's Satish Kumar in 2015. The BJP leader had defeated Yadav's mother Rabri Devi, a former chief minister, in 2010.
A railway station and a police vehicle were torched and several law enforcers injured in stone-pelting incidents on the fourth consecutive day of protests against Agnipath scheme on Saturday when a bandh was also called to press for the demand for rollback of the new scheme for recruitment in armed forces.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Bihar unit president C P Thakur has agreed to withdraw his resignation after the party high command assured him that his grievances will be addressed.Thakur had resigned from his post on Friday after his son Vivek was denied a ticket from Bankipur seat to contest the upcoming assembly polls. Thakur had refused to take part in the election campaign and said that he would discuss the future course of action with his supporters.
