Prashant Kishor takes oath as Bihar's Bankipur MLA, becomes first legislator from Jan Suraaj party

Jan Suraaj Party founder and MLA Prashant Kishor took oath as Bankipur MLA on Monday, August 17. He has now become the first legislator from the Jan Suraaj party in the Bihar Assembly.

Prashant Kishor defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Neeraj Kumar by around 20,000 votes to win the high-profile Bankipur assembly seat in Bihar.

The celebrated poll strategist created history on his electoral debut when he garnered 64,151 votes, over Kumar, a low-key BJP youth wing leader.

Why is Prashant Kishor's win in Bankipur significant?

The victory of Kishor, whose fledgling Jan Suraaj Party had failed to open its account in the 2025 Bihar assembly election, came as a rude shock to the ruling BJP.

Kishor's victory in Bankipur was significant, as the assembly seat had been a BJP stronghold for nearly three decades, since 1995.

The seat was held by BJP national president Nitin Nabin for five consecutive terms, securing victories in 2010, 2015, 2020, and 2025. Nabin had resigned as an MLA to take up the national role, thus necessitating the byelection.

"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.

Kishor's agenda

After his victory in Bankipur bye-elections, Prashant Kishor said his agenda had never been limited to a single constituency but on a broader goal for the state.

"Indeed, the Bankipur election was not just to elect an MLA for Bankipur. From day one, we set an agenda, and our goal has been that since the NDA and BJP got a majority in Bihar... people expect a good person to lead Bihar so that Bihar develops, Bihar's children progress, there's quality education, employment, and an end to migration," he said, according to PTI.

He went further, directly naming Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and calling on the BJP's top leadership to reconsider its choice for the state's top post.

"The mandate that has come from Bankipur today is not just about electing an MLA. The people of Bankipur have sent a message to the BJP's central leadership to appoint a better person as Chief Minister in Bihar instead of Samrat Choudhary," Kishor said.

Clarifying that he has no personal issue with Samrat Choudhary, he said, "The issue is whether a capable person should lead to improve the lives of Bihar's 13 crore people, or someone whose conduct and character are themselves questionable," he said.

He argued the real issue was Bihar's status as one of India's poorest and most backward states, and questioned whether the BJP's commitment to development extended equally to all the states that vote for it.

"It's not about the person; it's about the fact that Bihar is currently the poorest and most backward state in the country. Is the responsibility of Modi ji and the BJP, whom we vote for, only towards Gujarat? The children of Bihar also have rights. Let a one-lakh-crore-rupee bullet train be built in Gujarat; we have no problem with that, but something should also be thought for the children of Bihar," he said.