Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party wins the Bankipur by-poll, a BJP stronghold in Bihar. Congress retains the Datia seat in MP, while BJP keeps Manjalpur in Gujarat but with a significantly reduced margin, signalling a political shift.

The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a blow on Monday, losing the saffron citadel in Bihar's Bankipur, capitalising on widespread voter disillusionment and nationwide student unrest.

Major Upset in Bihar as Prashant Kishor Wins Bankipur

In Bihar's urban bastion of Bankipur--a saffron stronghold since 1995 vacated by BJP National President Nitin Nabin--Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor secured his maiden electoral victory by a resounding 19,324 votes. Simultaneously, in Madhya Pradesh's Datia, the Congress retained the key seat after defeating the BJP by over 6,000 votes. The BJP's sole consolation came from Gujarat, where it retained the Manjalpur seat in Vadodara, albeit with a drastically reduced victory margin compared to the 2022 elections. BJP retained the seat, with Satish Patel beating Congress's Bhikhabhai Rabari by 30,630 votes. But that margin is a steep fall from the 1,00,754-vote landslide the party won there in the 2022 assembly election.

Coming on the heels of intense youth-led protests over exam paper leaks and rising unemployment, the loss signals a shifting political wind across the Hindi heartland, exposing vulnerable fault lines in the BJP's traditional strongholds. One of the major political upsets for the BJP is Bankipur, which fell vacant after the party's national president Nitin Nabin, who had represented it for five consecutive terms, moved to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year.

Prashant Kishor had said he was not looking for a "safe seat" and had deliberately chosen to contest from Bankipur to send a message that Bihar's voters should move beyond caste and religion. The win marks Kishor's first electoral victory since he launched Jan Suraaj, and comes barely nine months after the party failed to open its account in the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. The by-poll recorded a voter turnout of 34.24 per cent, according to the Election Commission.

Kishor Demands CM Change, Opposition Cheers

Following the results, Kishor said, "This time, the people of Bankipur have made us win, and they have done so because they have hope and trust that we will raise our voices for their rights to the best of our ability, and we will make every possible effort to ensure nothing wrong happens to them."

Kishor said his agenda had never been limited to a single constituency but on a broader goal for the state. "Indeed, the Bankipur election was not just to elect an MLA for Bankipur. From day one, we set an agenda, and our goal has been that since the NDA and BJP got a majority in Bihar... people expect a good person to lead Bihar so that Bihar develops, Bihar's children progress, there's quality education, employment, and an end to migration," he said.

He then went further, directly naming Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and calling on the BJP's top leadership to reconsider its choice for the state's top post. "The mandate that has come from Bankipur today is not just about electing an MLA. The people of Bankipur have sent a message to the BJP's central leadership to appoint a better person as Chief Minister in Bihar instead of Samrat Choudhary," Kishor said.

The BJP's defeat in Bankipur drew sharp barbs from Opposition leaders, including AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav. Taking a biting swipe at the ruling party, Yadav remarked, "Those who arrogantly believed they could make God dance have ultimately been made to dance to His tune."

"The BJP has lost even the seat of its national president. Prashant Kishor ji has won from Bankipur with a huge margin. Heartiest congratulations to him," Kejriwal said on X, referring to the seat previously held by BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who had vacated it after being elected to the Rajya Sabha.

By-poll Results in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat

In Madhya Pradesh, Congress retained the seat by defeating BJP nominee Ashutosh Tiwari by a margin of 6,016 votes. Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh secured 66,757 votes, while Tiwari polled 60,741 votes after all 15 rounds of counting. The bypoll was necessitated following the disqualification of sitting Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti in April, after a Delhi court convicted and sentenced him in a bank fraud and cheating case.

BJP candidate Ashutosh Tiwari thanked voters, party workers and leaders for their support and said he would accept the people's mandate with humility. Speaking to the reporters, Tiwari said, "Every one of our dedicated workers is standing with full enthusiasm, and the counting is still underway. The Datia case is not hidden from you, so many of your questions already have answers. For now, I express my heartfelt gratitude to the voters, our workers, and party leaders for their blessings, hard work, confidence, and commitment to advancing the party's ideology and taking the government's welfare schemes to the grassroots. I will accept whatever mandate the people give with humility."

Reacting to the results, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav accepted the verdict; however, he pointed out that the ruling BJP had actually expanded its vote base in the constituency despite the loss.

The one bright spot for the party came in Gujarat, where BJP's Satish Patel routed Congress's Bhikha Rabari in Manjalpur by more than 30,000 votes. Patel secured 55,481 votes in the bypolls as Congress's Bhikhabhai Rabari trailed with 24,851 votes. The Manjalpur seat fell vacant following the demise of sitting BJP MLA Yogeshbhai Narandas Patel, who had won the seat in the past three elections. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)