Bihar bypoll: Bankipur byelection counting begins, Prashant Kishor leads as per initial trends

The bypoll for the Bankipur Assembly seat in Bihar commenced at 8 a.m. on Monday, with debutant Prashant Kishor, representing the Jan Suraaj Party, leading the preliminary vote count over his BJP rival Neeraj Kumar. Kishor has maintained a small edge in the initial stages, leading for three consecutive rounds. The by-election was triggered due to the resignation of the BJP's national president, Nitin Nabin, who stepped down in April to join the Rajya Sabha.

The counting process took place under stringent security measures. The election saw a voter turnout of 34.30%, a significant decrease from the 41.45% observed in the previous Assembly elections. A total of 26 candidates participated in this contest. Nitin Nabin, who had won the seat five times consecutively in 2025, fielded his loyalist, Neeraj Kumar Sinha, as the party's nominee.

Kishor, a former poll strategist, is making his electoral debut with the new party, while the BJP, which has historically remained unbeaten in this constituency since 1995, opted for a less prominent youth leader.