Prashant Kishor Leads In Bankipur: Why The Bypoll Matters And What His Affidavit Reveals

Prashant Kishor’s Bankipur election affidavit has drawn attention to the wealth of his wife, Dr Jahanvi Das. Her declared assets are worth over Rs 101 crore, according to reports citing the affidavit. Kishor has declared assets worth Rs 96 crore.

Prashant Kishor Extends Lead Over BJP In Bankipur Bypoll

Jan Suraaj Party candidate Prashant Kishor widened his lead over BJP’s Neeraj Kumar Sinha in the Bankipur Assembly by-election on Monday, moving 10,436 votes ahead after 18 rounds of counting, officials said.

Kishor had secured 35,713 votes, while Sinha had polled 25,277 votes. RJD candidate Rekha Gupta was in third place with 9,316 votes.

Counting began at 8 am at AN College in Patna, with 31 rounds scheduled in total. The result is being closely watched as Kishor seeks to win the BJP-held seat in his first electoral contest.

Celebrations begin at Jan Suraaj camp

The widening lead triggered celebrations among Jan Suraaj supporters at the party headquarters and outside the counting centre.

Supporters were seen dancing to local songs and distributing sweets as the early trends favoured Kishor.

However, the final result will only be clear after all 31 rounds of counting are completed.

JD(U) ministers Shrawon Kumar and Sunil Kumar urged people to wait for the official result, pointing out that counting was still in progress.

Why the Bankipur contest matters

The by-election was necessitated after BJP national president Nitin Nabin resigned from the Bankipur Assembly seat in April following his election to the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP has fielded its youth wing leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha, while the RJD has again nominated Rekha Gupta.

Gupta had contested the seat in the 2025 Assembly election and lost to Nabin by more than 50,000 votes.

For Kishor, the contest is a key test of whether his Jan Suraaj Party can make an electoral breakthrough in an urban seat long associated with the BJP.

Turnout fell sharply

The Bankipur bypoll was held on July 30 and recorded a voter turnout of 34.30 per cent, or around 1.30 lakh voters.

This was more than seven percentage points lower than the 41.45 per cent turnout recorded in the previous Assembly election.

Of the nearly 3.8 lakh eligible voters, 2,00,060 were men, 1,79,533 were women and 23 were from the third-gender category.

Before counting began, RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav visited Baba Harihar Nath Temple in Sonepur and offered prayers.

The Bankipur result is being closely followed in Bihar as Kishor attempts to turn his political campaign into an electoral victory.

With 18 of the 31 rounds completed, Kishor remains firmly ahead, but the final outcome will depend on the remaining rounds.

Why Bankipur is important for Prashant Kishor

The Bankipur contest is being closely watched because of the seat’s long association with the BJP. The party has held the constituency continuously since 1995, when it was known as Patna West. It has therefore been seen as one of the BJP’s safer urban seats in Bihar.

Kishor, who built his public profile as an election strategist before launching Jan Suraaj, is contesting his first election from the seat.

A win would give him much more than a single Assembly seat. It would provide an early test of whether his political organisation can convert his public profile and campaign network into votes.

The contest is also important because Kishor has tried to present Jan Suraaj as a new political alternative in Bihar rather than simply another party fighting within the existing BJP-RJD framework.

How the contest took shape

The bypoll was required after BJP leader Nitin Nabin vacated the Bankipur seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha in April.

The BJP chose youth leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its candidate. The RJD again fielded Rekha Gupta, who had contested the 2025 Assembly election from the seat and lost to Nabin by more than 50,000 votes.

Kishor entered the contest as the Jan Suraaj candidate, turning the bypoll into a closely followed three-way battle.

The election was held on July 30. Voter turnout stood at 34.30 per cent, lower than the 41.45 per cent recorded in the previous Assembly election.

The relatively low turnout has added another layer to the contest, particularly in an urban constituency where the ability to bring supporters to polling booths can have a major impact on the result.

Kishor had already made serious allegations

The election was not without controversy.

Hours before counting began, Kishor accused the Patna Police and local administration of trying to influence the election.

At a press conference late on Sunday, he alleged that Jan Suraaj campaign workers had been detained and that some voters had been intimidated.

Kishor said his party would approach the Election Commission and the Supreme Court over what he described as irregularities.

He also displayed a notice issued by the Patna Senior Superintendent of Police. According to Kishor, the administration had detained people who had travelled from outside to campaign for Jan Suraaj, saying they could create a law-and-order problem.

The allegations are part of Kishor’s account of the election and have not been established as wrongdoing by the authorities.

Before the results, Kishor had also expressed strong confidence in his chances. He predicted a large BJP defeat and said the result would challenge the party’s belief that it could win the seat regardless of its candidate.

The wealth details in Kishor’s affidavit

While the election itself has been the main focus, Kishor’s nomination affidavit has also attracted considerable attention.

According to reports citing his affidavit, Kishor has declared total assets of around Rs 96.06 crore. These include about Rs 22.19 crore in movable assets and around Rs 73.87 crore in immovable assets. His declared liabilities are about Rs 5.78 crore.

His wife, Dr Jahanvi Das, has declared assets worth around Rs 101.93 crore, according to the same affidavit. Her holdings include about Rs 89.51 crore in movable assets and Rs 12.42 crore in immovable property. She has liabilities of around Rs 55.38 lakh.

This means Das has declared more assets than her husband.

The affidavit also lists a dependent child with declared assets, taking the combined family wealth higher. Different reports have used slightly different totals depending on whether they include the dependent child and how they calculate family assets.

What does Prashant Kishor own?

Kishor’s declared movable assets include bank deposits, investments, insurance and jewellery.

One of the most notable parts of the affidavit is his 100 per cent stake in Vedhas Ventures Private Limited. Reports citing the affidavit put the value of the stake at around Rs 95.26 crore.

His immovable assets include residential properties and other holdings. He has also declared a dismantled rice mill in Bihar.

The affidavit records both self-acquired and inherited property. His self-acquired immovable assets have been valued at around Rs 59.25 crore, while inherited property is valued at around Rs 14.62 crore.

Kishor’s income has also varied sharply between financial years. His income-tax return showed income of around Rs 58.45 lakh for 2024-25, compared with more than Rs 8.89 crore in 2023-24, according to details reported from his affidavit.

Eight pending criminal cases against Prashant Kishor

Kishor’s affidavit also discloses eight pending criminal cases against him.

The cases include allegations related to unlawful assembly, rioting, obstructing a public servant and criminal defamation, according to reports based on the affidavit.

Importantly, the existence of pending cases does not mean Kishor has been convicted.

The affidavit states that he is an accused in these cases and that he has not been convicted in any criminal case. The legal matters remain subject to the judicial process.

Who is Jahnavi Das?

Jahnavi Das is a medical professional. The affidavit describes her as an MBBS doctor and a senior adviser for special projects at Apollo Indraprastha Hospital in Delhi.

Her financial declaration has attracted attention mainly because of the value of her assets, which are higher than those declared by Kishor.

Her movable holdings include investments and other financial assets. Reports citing the affidavit said a substantial part of her declared wealth is linked to her holdings in Vedhas Ventures Private Limited.

The affidavit gives voters a detailed picture of the financial position of the candidate and his family because candidates are required to disclose their assets, liabilities and other relevant information while filing nominations.

What a Kishor win could mean

The biggest question now is whether Kishor can turn his current lead into a final victory.

If he does, the result would have significance well beyond Bankipur. Defeating the BJP in a seat it has controlled for decades would give Jan Suraaj a major boost and strengthen Kishor’s claim that voters are willing to look beyond Bihar’s established political parties.

For the BJP, losing Bankipur would be a serious setback because of its long record in the constituency.

For the RJD, Rekha Gupta’s distant position would underline the difficulty of challenging both the BJP and a high-profile new entrant in this particular contest.

But the final picture will only emerge after all 31 rounds are completed.

For now, the numbers point to Kishor having made a strong start in his first electoral battle. Whether that lead becomes a historic win for Jan Suraaj will depend on the remaining rounds of counting.