4 minute readPatnaJuly 29, 2026 05:20 AM (IST)
Campaigning for the Bankipur Assembly by-election ended on Tuesday, with Jan Slaaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor joining the fray against the BJP and RJD candidates, with the parties making the final push in what has emerged as a triangular contest.
The by-poll was necessitated after long-time Bankipur MLA Nitin Navin joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after he was elevated to the party’s national president position earlier this year. Navin remained at the forefront of Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha’s campaign on Tuesday, visiting temples in his constituency.
Tuesday also saw RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav leading a roadshow along with party candidate Rekha Gupta. Tejashwi, who joined the election campaign after returning from a trip abroad, questioned the BJP’s track record of progress in the constituency it has held continuously since 1995.
Prashant Kishor, Jan Suraj Party candidate for Bankipur assembly by-election. (Express Photography: Rahul Sharma)
Japanese video ignites uproar
Prashant Kishore held a series of mohalla meetings on the last day of the election campaign. Kishor sparked a controversy by claiming that former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s video appeal for votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party was generated by AI.
“I challenge the BJP. If the video is proven to be genuine, I will withdraw from the election campaign. It is shameful that the BJP is using the name of Nitish Kumar, who is not in good health. This reflects the BJP’s desperation to hold on to the so-called fort of Bankipur,” Kishor said.
Alleging that the Election Commission had intervened to keep Jeevika workers away from the Bharatiya Janata Party election campaign, Kishore appealed to voters to turn the vote into a “referendum on the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Samrat Chaudhary.” He also argued that the Bharatiya Janata Party would no longer be able to rely on traditional caste calculations.
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Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Pawan Singh on Tuesday held a roadshow in support of party candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha ahead of the Bankipur assembly by-polls amid crowds of RJD supporters in Patna. (PTI)
“There will be no contest.”
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party maintained that the contest was a “no contest” and that only the margin of victory was yet to be decided.
Navin along with Samrat Chaudhary held a roadshow in Patna on Monday. On the last day of campaigning, Navin visited several temples including Kali temple near Bansghat, Panchmukhi Hanuman temple on Boring Road and Shiv temple at Boring Road intersection.
The party also sent senior NDA leaders from the Chandravanshi community, including Congress president Prem Kumar, minister Pramod Chandravanshi and former JD(U) lawmaker Chandeshwar Prasad Chandravanshi, to campaign in Mitapur, which has a sizeable Chandravanshi population. Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan also addressed a public meeting in support of the BJP candidate.
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Bankipur is an urban constituency carved out of the erstwhile Patna West Assembly seat after delimitation in 2008 and has long been considered a Bharatiya Janata Party stronghold. Nitin Navin succeeded his father, former MLA Navin Kishore Prasad Sinha, as president since 2006. The referendum is being closely watched as an indicator of urban sentiment, as Bihar has a large middle-class electorate, trading community and distinct caste structure.
