Actor-turned-politician and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday threw his weight behind Prashant Kishor, who is contesting from the high-profile Bankipur Assembly seat in Bihar by-election. The move could add a fresh political dimension to Bihar’s electoral landscape ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Taking to social media platform X, Sinha praised the Jan Suraaj founder’s decision to enter electoral politics directly and urged voters, especially the youth, to support him by rising above caste, religion and party affiliations.
Describing Prashant Kishor as one of the country’s most capable and widely discussed political figures, Sinha said his decision to contest the Bankipur bypoll had generated significant political buzz in Bihar.
“As a ‘Bihari Babu’, I find this development politically exciting. Today, unity is the need of the hour. I hope and pray that common people, especially the youth, rise above caste, religion and party lines and support him,” Sinha wrote on X.
His endorsement comes at a time when the Bankipur bypoll is being closely watched as an indicator of the changing political mood in Bihar.
The bypoll was necessitated after Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his appointment as the BJP’s national president.
Bankipur has traditionally been regarded as one of the BJP’s strongest urban bastions, with a sizeable Kayastha population and a loyal urban voter base. For Prashant Kishor, contesting from the constituency is being viewed as a direct test of his political appeal and the organisational strength of his Jan Suraaj campaign ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.
A strong performance in the bypoll could help Kishor project Jan Suraaj as a credible political alternative, while the BJP will be keen to retain a seat long considered its fortress.
The constituency also has a personal political connection for Shatrughan Sinha.
In the 2020 Bihar Assembly election, his son Luv Sinha contested the Bankipur seat as a Congress candidate but lost to BJP leader Nitin Nabin.
With Nabin no longer representing the constituency, the by-election has become a closely watched political battle, with its outcome expected to influence the narrative ahead of the state polls.
Voting for the Bankipur Assembly by-election will be held on July 30, while the results are scheduled to be announced on August 3, 2026.