Jan Suraaj Party Founder Prashant Kishor took the oath as the Bankipur MLA in Patna on Monday, August 17, 2026.
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.
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 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.
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.
'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 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.
Goa railway police successfully apprehended a man wanted in a murder case in Karnataka, acting on intelligence inputs about his travel on the Hazrat Nizamuddin Express. The suspect, Prashant Kumar Bhandari, was arrested at Margao railway station.
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.
Supreme Court Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra has recused himself from hearing Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez's plea against a Delhi court order framing charges in a Rs 200-crore money laundering case, citing a conflict of interest.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear pleas filed by a former IPS officer and two persons, who claimed to have been injured by pellet guns fired during the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led students' protest on NEET paper leaks.
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.
The MV Ocean Winner sank within about eight minutes with 24 crew aboard; experts say excess moisture in its iron ore fines cargo may have caused liquefaction.
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.'
A former IPS officer and two individuals injured during a recent protest in Delhi have filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a ban on the use of pellet guns by law enforcement agencies for crowd dispersal. The petitioners argue that pellet guns are an arbitrary and dangerous tool, violating the right to freedom of assembly and failing the test of necessary and proportional force. They also seek compensation and medical treatment for victims.
The Supreme Court has reserved its decision on a plea by the Tamil Nadu government challenging a Madras High Court verdict. The High Court had ruled that individuals converting to Islam are not automatically entitled to reservation benefits under the Backward Class (Muslim) category solely based on their conversion.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training has reconstituted the Textbook Development Team for class 11 and 12 political science with a mandate to integrate cultural rootedness, Indian knowledge systems and inclusion, with at least four of the members having direct or indirect links with the RSS.
Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez's plea against a Delhi court order to frame charges in a Rs 200-crore money laundering case is scheduled for a Supreme Court hearing. The case involves alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who is accused of running an organised criminal network from jail and defrauding individuals.
A Goldman Sachs report indicates that US and Indian equity markets are becoming less attractive due to lower free cash flow (FCF) yields as valuations rise, while European markets offer significantly higher yields. Concurrently, India's top-listed residential real estate developers experienced a moderation in pre-sales in Q1FY27, attributed to delayed project approvals, limited launches, and high year-ago bases, though underlying housing demand remains healthy.
The Supreme Court has stated that a complete ban on pellet guns is not possible as long as existing advisories permit their use for crowd control in exceptional circumstances by security agencies. However, the court clarified that allegations of specific misuse can be examined on a case-by-case basis, particularly in light of recent protests against the NEET paper leak.
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a review petition challenging its earlier verdict that a person from a Scheduled Caste (SC) community loses their SC status upon converting to a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism, or Buddhism, effective from the moment of conversion.
Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez has withdrawn her plea from the Supreme Court, challenging a Delhi court's order to frame charges against her in a Rs 200 crore money laundering case.
The Indian education ministry has undergone a significant reshuffle of top officials, including the removal of higher education secretary Vineet Joshi, amidst widespread controversies surrounding NEET-UG paper leaks and CBSE digital evaluation glitches, with the opposition demanding the resignation of Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The Supreme Court is set to hear Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's challenge against the rejection of her Rajya Sabha nomination from Madhya Pradesh, which was dismissed due to alleged concealment of information in her election affidavit.
Police in Odisha have arrested 10 people for allegedly attempting to run over a tehsildar with a tractor during a raid on illegal soil mining operations in the Jajpur district.
August is going to be a special month for Bollywood, thanks to the Independence Day weekend, which will see a couple of big releases.
Ashok Choudhary on Tuesday sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to Prashant Kishor and described the allegations as baseless and 'blatant lies'.
The Supreme Court has granted bail to Shubham Saxena, accused of siphoning off Rs 22 crore from a real estate company, primarily due to his prolonged pre-trial detention of over four and a half years. This decision overturns a Delhi High Court ruling that had denied bail citing the gravity of the economic offence.
Patna High Court Chief Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo emphasised the importance of mock drills to instill a sense of safety and security among citizens during an Anti-Terrorist Squad demonstration at the court premises.
The Supreme Court has expressed serious concern over the Allahabad High Court's extraordinary 40-year delay in deciding a criminal appeal filed by a murder accused. The case involves Vijay Singh, who was convicted in 1985 and whose appeal was only dismissed in February this year, after four decades. The top court questioned measures to address mounting pendency and rejected a suggestion to dismiss old cases solely due to delay.
A Delhi court has convicted a doctor from Bihar for the dowry death of his wife, who died of poisoning shortly after their marriage in 2014, due to dowry-related harassment.
The Supreme Court has called for strict enforcement of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act to counter the deep-seated patriarchal preference for male children and prevalent sex-selection practices. The court highlighted declining child sex ratios and the continued need for efforts despite government welfare schemes, stressing that true equality is yet to be achieved. The observations were made while dismissing a doctor's appeal in a PCPNDT Act violation case.
Activist Sonam Wangchuk's health is deteriorating on the 18th day of his hunger strike, with his weight dropping significantly and vital signs requiring continuous monitoring. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has accused the government of 'cruelty' for its refusal to engage in dialogue regarding alleged NEET irregularities, intensifying calls for accountability from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Five Indian Air Force personnel, including two officers, were killed when their Russian-origin Antonov An-32 transport aircraft crashed while landing at Jorhat in Assam on Saturday. The co-pilot sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment.
The other board members will be Sunil Mehta, former non-executive chairman of Punjab National Bank, as the non executive chairman of Yes Bank, Mahesh Krishnamurthy and Atul Bheda as non-executive directors.
A former principal secretary of the Madhya Pradesh assembly, Bhagwandev Israni, has claimed that Congress nominee Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha poll nomination was wrongly rejected, arguing she was not required to disclose information as no FIR or chargesheet had been filed against her.
Three BJP candidates have been declared elected unopposed in the biennial Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, while the Congress party has moved the Supreme Court against the rejection of its candidate Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination.
