Biennial polls for eight Bihar Legislative Council seats resulted in significant upsets, with five sitting MLCs, including from BJP and Congress, losing. The fledgling Jan Suraaj Party secured its first victory. BJP won three seats, Independents two, while RJD, Jan Suraaj, and JD(U) each secured one. The results highlighted infighting within the INDIA bloc and a strong performance by new political forces.
JD(U) MLA Anant Kumar Singh openly defied his party by supporting a rival candidate, Anuj Singh of the Jan Suraaj Party, for the Bihar legislative council elections. This move is seen as a direct challenge to JD(U)'s official candidate, Neeraj Kumar, with whom Singh has a long-standing rivalry. The JD(U) leadership is reportedly considering action against Singh.
Devpalik Gupta, a digital communications manager for Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party, was found dead near railway tracks in Ranchi on Tuesday. He had gone missing from a moving train on Monday. Police are investigating, with preliminary findings suggesting an accidental fall. The party has expressed deep sorrow over his demise.
The Jan Suraaj Party has requested a meeting with Bihar's Chief Minister to discuss the murder of a Bihar resident in Delhi and to ensure a fair investigation and support for the victim's family.
The NDA alliance secured 16 out of 28 legislative council seats across four states, while the Congress managed to win only one seat. The Samajwadi Party made significant gains in Uttar Pradesh, and the Jan Suraaj Party opened its account in Bihar. The results show mixed fortunes for major parties, with notable setbacks for the BJP in Nagpur and the Congress in Karnataka.
JD(U) MLA Anant Kumar Singh has publicly declared his intention to support and campaign for Jan Suraaj Party candidate Anuj Singh against his own party's MLC, Neeraj Kumar, in the upcoming Bihar legislative council polls. Singh cited personal scores and past conspiracies involving Neeraj Kumar and RCP Singh as reasons for his rebellion.
JD-U MLA Anant Singh, a prominent 'strongman' in Bihar politics, has openly defied his party by campaigning for Jan Suraaj Party candidate Anuj Singh in the Patna Graduate constituency legislative council polls.
Counting of votes has commenced for Legislative Council seats across Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Karnataka, with significant political implications ahead of upcoming electoral battles. The elections saw varied turnouts and intense contests between ruling alliances and opposition parties.
The JD(U) has expelled Mokama MLA Anant Singh and his wife, former legislator Neelam Devi, for six years due to alleged anti-party activities. Singh was accused of campaigning for a rival candidate in recent legislative council elections and using insulting language against party leadership. The party also recommended the termination of Singh's MLA membership.
Mokama MLA Anant Singh, recently expelled from the Janata Dal (United) for six years, has announced his intention to form his own political party. Singh launched a scathing attack on the JD(U) leadership, claiming the party is "finished" and will struggle in future elections, though he maintained cordial personal ties with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. His expulsion, along with his wife Neelam Devi, was due to alleged anti-party activities, including campaigning for a rival candidate.
JD(U) MLA Anant Kumar Singh clarified his controversial "nine murders for Nitish Kumar" remark, stating it was misunderstood. He claimed he was referring to family members murdered due to his proximity to Nitish Kumar during RJD rule, not that he committed murders. The Mokama legislator, currently upset with JD(U) over legislative council polls, had previously made the statement causing a political stir.
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.
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.
Following the horrific Jamui molestation case, new incidents of harassment have been reported in Bihar's Samastipur and Muzaffarpur districts, leading to five arrests and prompting strong criticism from opposition leaders against the BJP-led NDA government over the state's law and order situation.
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.
Bihar police are investigating multiple past incidents of molestation and moral policing across several districts, including Kishanganj, Banka, and Samastipur, following recent public outrage. These cases, some months or even a year old, involve vigilante groups harassing individuals, often for inter-faith interactions, and have led to arrests and significant political controversy.
Jan Suraaj Party Founder Prashant Kishor took the oath as the Bankipur MLA in Patna on Monday, August 17, 2026.
Police in Jamui, Bihar, have arrested two main accused in the molestation of a minor girl, bringing the total arrests to five. The arrests followed an encounter where the accused were injured. The incident, captured in a viral video, has ignited a fierce political debate between the ruling NDA and opposition parties over law and order in the state.
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj party faces skepticism and challenges as it enters the Bihar Assembly elections, with critics questioning its experience and impact.
Prashant Kishor and Dr Jahnavi Das first met while working on a United Nations public health initiative.
Jan Suraaj Party spokesperson Pavan K Varma said the party would undertake a "serious review" of its performance in the Bihar Assembly elections after early trends showed Prashant Kishor's outfit making little impact despite a grassroots campaign.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor alleges that the BJP pressured three Jan Suraaj Party candidates to withdraw from the Bihar elections, accusing the ruling NDA of threatening opposition candidates and urging the Election Commission to ensure candidate security. The BJP denies the allegations.
"I am going to Raghopur to get feedback from the people of the constituency, which wants an end to the supremacy of one family. Before Tejashwi Yadav, a second-term MLA, his father Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi had represented that seat. Yet, it is crying for basic amenities," alleged Kishor.
'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.'
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has moved to an ashram on the outskirts of Patna to continue his political activities ahead of the next assembly elections. He criticised Nitish Kumar and urged voters to prioritise their own interests.
'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.'
Jan Suraaj Spokesperson and one of the key architects of the Party, Pavan Verma, levelled serious allegations that funds from the World Bank meant for some other project were diverted for the Bihar Assembly elections by the central government and distributed to women voters in the state.
The Supreme Court declined to entertain a petition by Jan Suraaj Party seeking annulment of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, citing violation of the Model Code of Conduct. The court directed the party to approach the Patna High Court.
The BJP-led NDA retained power in the state, winning 202 of the total 243 seats, while the INDIA bloc bagged only 35, including six of the Congress.
Addressing a women's convention in Patna, Kishor, the founder of political consultancy firm I-PAC, said Jan Suraaj wants to empower women of the state
'I will donate 90% of whatever I will earn from now on to continue the movement for a change in Bihar.'
The party was floated exactly two years after Kishor had embarked on a more than 3,000-km-long 'padayatra' of the state.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor criticized the new Bihar cabinet, alleging it is full of corrupt and criminal leaders. He also announced the launch of 'Bihar Navnirman Sankalp Yatra' on January 15.
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Friday announced his support for rebel Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Anup Kumar Srivastava in Bihar's Gopalganj, alleging that his own nominee Shashi Shekhar Sinha withdrew from the contest under pressure from the saffron party.
