The BJP may have captured power in Bihar with a dodgy but resounding victory in this year's Assembly elections, but the Bankipur bypoll has delivered an uncomfortable reminder: electoral dominance does not necessarily translate into enduring public support.

If there is one message from the Bankipur by-election, it is this — the BJP may still control the government, but its popularity is showing signs of erosion.

Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, who founded his Jan Suraj Party merely two years ago in 2024, has staged a remarkable individual debut and emerged victorious after leading through successive rounds of counting, ending with a victory margin of 18,953 votes after 29 rounds.

The Jan Suraj Party fielded candidates in 238 of Bihar's 243 Assembly constituencies in the 2026 elections, failed to open its account and secured just 3.44 per cent of the vote share.

Having entered electoral politics with the promise of replicating the Aam Aadmi Party's governance-centric model and shifting Bihar's political discourse from caste to issues such as education, employment and corruption, the party's debut appeared to end in disappointment. The Bankipur bypoll, however, marks a significant turnaround of sorts. Kishor's victory not only revives his........

© National Herald