Watch: Why BJP’s defeat in Bankipur could be a turning point in Bihar politics

Bihar's Bankipur assembly constituency will witness a significant defeat for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) according to Prashant Kishor, the founder of the Jan Suraaj Party. This is Kishor's first electoral endeavor, and the results of this bypoll will be announced on Monday. Speaking at a press conference in Patna, Kishor confidently predicted that the BJP's vote margin will be so large that they won't dare claim they could have won, even if they fielded both cats and dogs as candidates.

Kishor is contesting against BJP's Neeraj Kumar and RJD's Rekha Kumari. He alleged that a BJP leader had made a derogatory comment about the Bankipur voters being so loyal to the party that they'd still vote for them, even if they fielded a dog or a cat.

Taking a swipe at the ruling party, Kishor accused them of treating voters with disrespect and taking them for granted. BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad dismissed Kishor's allegations, calling them a "false and baseless narrative." He stressed on the party's respect for its grassroots workers and democratic processes. Kishor, however, alleged that the Patna police illegally detained his party leaders and supporters ahead of the election.

He claimed that 54 people, including many locals, were detained in the days leading up to the voting. Kishor has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India against the Patna police, who he claims falsely claimed that the detained individuals were outsiders. He accused the Patna SSP of being "incompetent, motivated, and foolish," and suggested that he was attempting to influence the voting process in a biased manner.

Kishor further alleged that the SSP was trying to manipulate the counting process by asking for assurances that he wouldn't interfere in the counting areas on Monday. He also claimed that the Bihar DGP and his subordinates assured this to him. Kishor further stated that the party had requested this assurance. Apart from Bankipur, bypolls in MP's Datia and Gujarat's Manjalpur are also scheduled for Monday.