Bankipur bypoll: Prashant Kishor leads by 3,500-plus votes
What's the story
Celebrations were seen at the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) camp office after party founder Prashant Kishor crossed 13,500 votes following the seventh round of counting of the Bankipur Assembly by-election. Kishor is pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, who is also contesting for the first time. Sinha had 9,689 votes after the seventh round, while Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)'s Rekha Gupta was in distant third, with just 2,599 votes.
Twitter Post
Jan Suraaj Party workers celebrate
#WATCH | Patna, Bihar | Jan Suraaj Party workers celebrate at the camp office following party Founder Prashant Kishor's 3800+ votes lead after the 7th round of counting of the Bankipur Assembly by-election. https://t.co/32HIxuwSn9 pic.twitter.com/wjxSl1EmBN
— ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2026
Election challenge
Jan Suraaj party lost deposits in 236 Bihar constituencies
The bye-poll was necessitated after BJP National President Nitin Nabin resigned from his seat after becoming a Rajya Sabha MP.
The Jan Suraaj party had made its electoral debut in the 2025 Bihar polls but failed to win any seats, losing deposits in 236 out of 238 constituencies.
Kishor had launched the party in October 2024 with a promise to end political helplessness in Bihar.
Gujarat update
In Gujarat's Manjalpur, BJP is ahead
In the Gujarat Manjalpur by-poll, BJP's Satendrabhai Patel is leading Congress's Bhikhabhai Rabari by over 13,500 votes after nine rounds of counting.
The bye-poll was necessitated due to the death of BJP MLA Yogesh Patel in June.
In Madhya Pradesh's Datia, Congress's Ghanshyam Singh is leading BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari by 833 votes after four rounds of counting.