A fresh political development has emerged in Bihar’s high-profile Bankipur Assembly bypoll, with Tej Pratap Yadav announcing that his party, the Janshakti Janata Dal (JJD), will support Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor in the July 30 election.
The announcement comes days after the nomination of JJD candidate Veena Mandavi was rejected by election authorities due to alleged errors in her nomination papers. Following the rejection, the party chose not to field another candidate.
Announcing the decision, Tej Pratap Yadav said the Janshakti Janata Dal would now extend its support to Prashant Kishor, who is contesting the bypoll as the Jan Suraaj Party candidate. The endorsement adds another dimension to the contest, which has drawn significant political attention in Bihar.
The bypoll was necessitated after five-term BJP MLA Nitin Nabin vacated the Bankipur seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha after being appointed the BJP’s national president.
The BJP has fielded youth wing leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha, banking on the party’s long-standing dominance in the urban constituency, which it has retained with comfortable margins for decades.
KISHOR SEEKS TO REVIVE JAN SURAAJ
For Prashant Kishor, the bypoll is a crucial political test after his Jan Suraaj Party failed to win a single seat in the Bihar Assembly elections last year.
Campaigning aggressively, Kishor has projected the by-election as a referendum on the BJP-led government in Bihar. He has urged voters across communities to back his party, arguing that a victory for Jan Suraaj would send a strong political message to the ruling dispensation without threatening the stability of the NDA government.
The former political strategist has also targeted the BJP government over issues including unemployment, corruption, law and order, and infrastructure while seeking to position himself as a credible political alternative in the state.
With the JJD now backing Kishor, the Bankipur bypoll has become a closely watched contest, although the BJP continues to rely on its strong organisational network and long electoral dominance in the constituency.
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Published By:
Priyanka Kumari
Published On:
Jul 25, 2026 00:08 IST
