Prashant Kishor Leads in Bankipur By-Election Vote Count

In the Bankipur by-election, Prashant Kishor of the Jan Suraj Party is leading with a significant margin over BJP's Neeraj Kumar. As the vote counting progresses, Kishor has secured over 23,000 votes, while Kumar trails behind. This election is crucial as Kishor aims to claim a seat from the BJP for the first time. The turnout was notably lower than previous elections, raising questions about voter engagement. Stay tuned for updates as the counting continues and the final results unfold.

By Narendra Chaudhary Aug 3, 2026, 13:52 IST

Vote Counting Progress in Bankipur

Patna, August 3 - In the ongoing by-election for the Bankipur assembly seat in Bihar, Prashant Kishor, representing the Jan Suraj Party, has established a lead of 6,646 votes over his closest rival, Neeraj Kumar from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), after the 12th round of counting on Monday. According to the Election Commission, Kishor has garnered 23,756 votes, while Kumar has received 17,110 votes. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate, Rekha Kumari, is currently in third place with 4,850 votes.

The counting process for the Bankipur by-election commenced at 8 AM on Monday. All eyes are on whether Kishor, who is contesting elections for the first time, can successfully wrest this seat from the BJP. Bihar's Minister, Shravan Kumar, stated that the government will respect the people's decision, whatever it may be.

He remarked, 'These are initial trends. The situation will become clearer after a few more rounds of counting. We hope that the mandate will favor the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), as we have worked for the development of people from all castes, religions, and communities.'

This by-election was necessitated following the resignation of BJP's Nitin Naveen from the assembly after being elected to the Rajya Sabha in April.

The BJP has fielded Neeraj Kumar Sinha, a leader from its youth wing, as its candidate. The RJD has once again nominated Rekha Gupta, who previously lost to BJP's Nitin Naveen by over 50,000 votes in the last assembly elections in 2025.

During the voting on July 30, only 34.30% of eligible voters participated, which is a decline of more than 7% compared to the 41.45% turnout in the previous assembly elections. Before the counting began, RJD's acting president Tejashwi Yadav offered prayers at the Baba Harihar Nath temple in Sonpur. Meanwhile, BJP workers were seen preparing laddus at various sweet shops in Patna.

They claim that Neeraj Kumar Sinha's victory is assured.