In a stellar debut performance, Prashant Kishore won by a margin of 19324 votes. He received 64,151 votes in total. Mr. Kishor got 64,151 votes, whereas Mr. Sinha got 44,827 votes. RJD candidate Rekha Kumari came third with 14,273 votes. He arrived at the counting centre in Patna to collect his winning certificate.
Celebrations broke out at the Jan Suraaj Party headquarters and outside the counting centre at A.N. College here, with supporters dancing to the tunes of local songs and distributing sweets.
“I am also congratulating those who lost the election. This is a democracy; there are wins and losses in elections. But the Bankipur election was not an election to elect an MLA. This election was to decide on the BJP-NDA government and its leadership. The people of Bankipur have voted that the central leadership of the BJP should consider it and, in the interest of Bihar, hand over the power of Bihar to a good person,” says Jan Suraaj Chief Prashant Kishor after winning the bypoll.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party humbly accepts the mandate of the Bankipur by-election and respects the people’s decision. In a democratic process, the verdict of the people is above everything!” Bihar BJP State President Sanjay Saraogi said in a statement. “Unlike Opposition parties, we do not blame constitutional institutions, EVMs, or the Election Commission for our defeat. The Bharatiya Janata Party has complete faith in democracy and constitutional systems, and believes in addressing its shortcomings through introspection and review.”
The bypoll, held on July 30, recorded a voter turnout of 34.30%, down by more than 7% from the 41.45% registered in the last Assembly elections.
Prashant Kishor, a former poll strategist who launched the Jan Suraaj Party a few years ago, is contesting his first election, while the BJP, which has never lost the Assembly segment since 1995 when it was known as Patna West, has fielded low-key youth wing leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha
The by-elections are being viewed as an important political test ahead of future electoral battles in the three states. Bankipur is significant because it marked Prashant Kishor’s first electoral victory and a major milestone for Jan Suraaj