Bankipur bypoll: Prashant Kishor targets BJP after candidate quits race
Synopsis
A BJP candidate's last-minute withdrawal from the Bankipur bypoll — a seat the party claims as its own stronghold — has handed Prashant Kishor a ready-made attack line ahead of his electoral debut. With the RJD also smelling blood and the BJP scrambling to field a replacement, the bypoll is already producing more political drama than most full elections.
Key Takeaways
Prashant Kishor attacked the BJP on 11 July after the party's Bankipur bypoll candidate Abhishek Kumar Sinha alias Bunty withdrew his nomination, citing family reasons.
The BJP replaced Bunty with Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its official candidate for the Bankipur Assembly by-election .
Kishor called the withdrawal proof that 'people have made up their mind for change' and predicted a BJP defeat.
BJP leader Jibesh Kumar hit back, noting Jan Suraaj contested all 243 Bihar Assembly seats in the last election and won none, with only 2 candidates retaining deposits.
RJD candidate Rekha Gupta called the BJP's candidate switch 'a defeat of the party's strategy.' The bypoll is Prashant Kishor's first personal electoral contest and is being held in a seat associated with BJP National President Nitin Nabin .
Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, who is set to make his electoral debut in the Bankipur Assembly constituency bypoll in Bihar, on Saturday, 11 July took a sharp swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the party's candidate withdrew his nomination from the contest. Kishor said the BJP's candidate had 'fled from that constituency's bypoll which is said to be the BJP's stronghold.'
What Triggered the Remarks
The BJP had initially named Abhishek Kumar Sinha alias Bunty as its candidate for the Bankipur Assembly by-election. Bunty withdrew his nomination on Friday, 10 July, citing family reasons, prompting the party to replace him with Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its official nominee.
Kishor seized on the development, arguing it exposed the BJP's weakness in a seat it has long considered a fortress. 'It is said that they have a stronghold in Bankipur, but their candidate ran away from the field. So, the position of the BJP can be gauged from the running away of their candidate,' he said.
Kishor's Full Salvo at BJP
Elaborating further, Kishor drew a contrast with what he described as a broader pattern of candidate attrition in Bihar politics. 'In the last four to five years, it has been seen that the candidates of other parties either run away or are bought or threatened. Maybe, this is happening for the first time in many years that a BJP candidate has fled, that too from the bypoll of Assembly constituency for which BJP leaders were claiming that even if a stray is fielded from there, the party would still win,' he remarked.
He also pointed to the seat's symbolic weight, noting it is associated with BJP National President Nitin Nabin. 'The BJP is a very large party, and if its candidate flees from by-election in a seat considered its stronghold and the seat of its National President, then the situation is self-explanatory,' Kishor said, asserting that 'people here have made up their mind for change' and that 'the BJP is set to lose.'
BJP Hits Back at Kishor
BJP leader Jibesh Kumar countered sharply, pointing to Jan Suraaj's performance in last year's Bihar Assembly elections, where the party contested all 243 seats but failed to win a single one. Only two of its candidates managed to retain their deposits, Kumar noted.
'Is this the same Prashant Kishor who contested elections a few months ago? He contested all 243 Assembly seats and could not even open his account. Only two of his candidates managed to retain their deposits... I only know that the NDA will win the Bankipur bypoll with a majority,' Kumar told reporters.
RJD Candidate Weighs In
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Rekha Gupta also commented on the BJP's candidate switch, calling it 'a defeat of the party's strategy.' She said the development signalled early trouble for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the constituency.
'Their strategy has failed at the very first step. Now their candidate has run away, very soon they will flee from Bankipur as well,' Gupta said, expressing confidence that voters would back her as someone who could 'become their voice in the Bihar Assembly.'
What to Watch
The Bankipur bypoll is shaping up as a three-cornered contest between Jan Suraaj, the BJP-led NDA, and the RJD, with Kishor's electoral debut adding unusual national attention to what is typically a state-level by-election. The candidate withdrawal and mid-course replacement by the BJP has handed the opposition an early narrative advantage, though the party's revised nominee Neeraj Kumar Sinha is yet to make a public case for his candidacy. How the NDA consolidates after the disruption will be closely watched.
Point of View
' the party now enters the bypoll on the back foot — and Kishor, despite Jan Suraaj's dismal 243-seat showing last year, has been handed a credible attack line at no political cost. The deeper question is whether this reflects genuine anti-incumbency in an urban Patna seat or merely internal party friction. If the NDA stumbles in Bankipur, it will embolden the opposition narrative heading into the next Bihar electoral cycle far more than the bypoll's single seat would otherwise warrant.
NationPress
11 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the BJP candidate withdraw from the Bankipur bypoll?
BJP candidate Abhishek Kumar Sinha alias Bunty withdrew his nomination from the Bankipur Assembly by-election on 10 July, citing family reasons. The party subsequently named Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its replacement candidate.
Who is Prashant Kishor contesting against in the Bankipur bypoll?
Prashant Kishor of Jan Suraaj is contesting against the BJP's revised candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha and RJD's Rekha Gupta, among others. The Bankipur bypoll marks Kishor's first personal electoral contest.
What did Prashant Kishor say about the BJP's candidate withdrawal?
Kishor said the withdrawal showed the BJP's candidate had 'fled' from a seat the party claims as its stronghold, arguing it reflected that 'people have made up their mind for change.' He predicted the BJP would lose the bypoll.
How did the BJP respond to Prashant Kishor's remarks?
BJP leader Jibesh Kumar dismissed Kishor's criticism by pointing to Jan Suraaj's performance in the last Bihar Assembly elections, where the party contested all 243 seats, won none, and had only 2 candidates retain their deposits. Kumar said the NDA would win Bankipur with a majority.
Why is the Bankipur bypoll considered significant?
Bankipur is regarded as a BJP stronghold in Patna and is associated with BJP National President Nitin Nabin. The bypoll has drawn added attention because it is Prashant Kishor's electoral debut, making it a test of both the BJP's urban Bihar base and Jan Suraaj's ground-level support.
