Bihar bypoll Prashant Kishor is leading according to early indicators as the Bankipur byelection counting gets underway.

In the first rounds of vote counting, newcomer Prashant Kishor overtook adversary Neeraj Kumar of the BJP. He has won five straight rounds as of 11.30 a.m.Voting for the Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar started at 8 a.m. on Monday, August 3, 2026, in Patna. Everyone was watching to see if Jan Suraaj Party rookie Prashant Kishor would unseat the BJP.Nitin Nabin, the national president of the BJP, resigned after being elected to the Rajya Sabha in April, necessitating a by-election."The counting of votes for the Bankipur by-election began amid tight security arrangements," an official stated. Voter turnout in the July 30 bypoll was 34.30%, a decrease of about 7% from the 41.45% registered in the last Assembly elections.

This time, there are 26 contenders in the race. In November 2025, Mr. Nabin defeated his closest opponent, Rekha Gupta of the RJD, by more than 50,000 votes to win the Assembly seat for the fifth time in a row. Mr. Gupta was once more nominated by the RJD for the by-election.

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, while Prashant Kishor, a former poll strategist who founded the Jan Suraaj Party a few years ago, is running in his maiden election.As early indications of the Bankipur Assembly by-election indicated founder Prashant Kishor leading, joyful Jan Suraaj Party members gathered at the party's camp headquarters. While closely monitoring the current vote count, followers of the former poll strategist-turned-politician raised slogans in favour of him and praised his impressive start in his first election.