Jan Suraaj to contest Bankipur bye-election, vows to defeat BJP

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor expressed confidence in his party winning the Bankipur bye-election. He said the party will contest with full force to defeat the BJP in its 40-year stronghold, which was vacated by Nitin Nabin.

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Wednesday expressed confidence in his party winning the Bankipur seat in the bye-elections, opening its account in Bihar, after BJP President Nitin Nabin vacated the seat and moved to the Rajya Sabha in March this year.

Jan Suraaj to challenge BJP stronghold

Speaking to ANI, Prashant Kishor acknowledged that the seat has been a BJP bastion and said that Jan Suraaj will contest with "full force." Kishor said, "It will not be difficult for Jan Suraaj at all. Jan Suraaj has resolved that Bankipur, which has served as a BJP stronghold for the past 40 years, and currently happens to be the seat held by the BJP's National President, will be contested by Jan Suraaj with full force, and every effort will be made to ensure that they are defeated there."

He added that the Jan Suraaj will carry a door-to-door campaign, intensifying the public outreach. "It is not a question of who the candidate will be. It has been decided that the party will go door-to-door, intensifying the public outreach campaign over the coming month, seeking the opinions of the people, and doing whatever it takes to ensure the BJP is defeated there," he added.

Background of the bye-election

Nitin Nabin had resigned from the Bankipur seat, from where he won four consecutive times, as he was elected as the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and moved to the Rajya Sabha after winning a seat in the biennial polls.

Past election performance

In the last elections in 2025, Nitin Nabin defeated Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)'s Rekha Kumari by a margin of 51,936 (33.4 per cent) votes. Jan Suraaj's Vandana Kumari was placed third, winning just 7,717 votes.

In the 2025 elections, Jan Suraaj faced a debacle in its electoral debut, after not being able to open an account in the seats tally. The ruling NDA swept the polls, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 89 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) finishing a close second with 85. (ANI)

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