Bankipur verdict a message to PM for making Samrat Choudhary CM: Prashant Kishor

Hours after securing a historic victory in the Bankipur bypoll and wresting a seat held by the BJP for more than three decades, Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor said the verdict was a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against imposing Samrat Choudhary, whom he described as a symbol of “jungle raj”, on Bihar.“You have made a man associated with ‘jungle raj’ the Chief Minister and then claim that you oppose jungle raj,” Kishor said in an exclusive interview with India Today TV.He argued that Bankipur voters had rejected the BJP’s leadership model and punished the party for taking its traditional supporters for granted.“The party that wins has the right to make anyone it wants the Chief Minister. But if it appoints such a Chief Minister, people also have the opportunity to express themselves through their vote,” Kishor said. ‘ARE THERE NO CAPABLE PEOPLE LEFT IN BJP?’Questioning the BJP’s decision to elevate Choudhary, Kishor asked whether the party had run out of capable leaders. “Are there no capable people left in the BJP?” he asked.Kishor also criticised Choudhary’s public conduct, saying his language was not befitting of a Chief Minister. He maintained that his opposition was not personal but directed against what he described as leadership imposed on Bihar.“I have no objection if the Chief Minister is from the BJP. But the person should be capable and competent,” he said.‘BANKIPUR VOTERS WERE TRADITIONAL BJP SUPPORTERS’Kishor argued that most of those who backed Jan Suraaj in Bankipur were not traditional BJP opponents but party supporters unhappy with its “arrogance”.“The important thing to note is that most of the people who voted for Jan Suraaj in Bankipur are BJP supporters,” he said.“They voted this way because they do not accept the BJP’s arrogance. They do not accept the attitude that even if the party gives a ticket to a dog or a cat, people will still be compelled to vote for it,” he added.Kishor claimed the BJP lost at more than 400 of Bankipur’s 422 polling booths, describing the result as a rejection of the party’s leadership model.He said ordinary voters could not directly meet the Prime Minister to convey their dissatisfaction and had therefore used the ballot to send their message.‘BIHAR NEEDS JOBS, NOT JUST 5 KG RATION’Kishor also targeted the Centre over Bihar’s economic condition, accusing PM Modi of focusing heavily on Gujarat while offering Bihar little beyond free foodgrain.“Modi ji is so concerned about Gujarat, but he has nothing for Bihar except 5 kg of foodgrain. Bihar also elected and sent 30 MPs from your party,” he said.Kishor said people wanted industries, jobs and better education rather than politics centred solely on welfare distribution.He warned that unless the BJP government brought factories and employment opportunities to Bihar, Bankipur-like verdicts would be repeated elsewhere in the state.“More than two crore people in Bihar voted for the BJP. Stop migration from the state and end this politics centred around distributing foodgrain,” he said.The Jan Suraaj chief added that his party’s objective was not merely to secure the Leader of the Opposition’s post but to fight for Bihar’s employment, education and development needs.PRASHANT KISHOR ON NITIN NABINReferring to BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Kishor said it was a matter of pride that a leader from Bihar held the position.“Nitin Nabin ji is the BJP’s national president, and that is a matter of pride for me. I will welcome anyone who raises Bihar’s flag high,” he said.However, Kishor urged Nabin to assert his authority rather than function as a “rubber stamp”.“I would urge him not to become a rubber stamp. He should show that he can be a strong leader,” Kishor said.Kishor wrested Bankipur from Nabin, who had represented the constituency since it was created following delimitation in 2010.BANKIPUR BYPOLL RESULTSThe election strategist-turned-politician scripted history on Monday by delivering Jan Suraaj its first electoral victory, defeating the BJP in the high-stakes Bankipur Assembly bypoll and ending the party’s uninterrupted hold over the seat for more than three decades.Kishor defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha by 19,324 votes, polling 64,151 votes against Sinha’s 44,827. RJD candidate Rekha Gupta finished a distant third with 14,273 votes.After taking an early lead, Kishor steadily widened the gap, with the result becoming virtually certain by the 15th round of counting.The victory followed months of groundwork by the Jan Suraaj chief, who began campaigning nearly two months before the BJP and RJD launched their full-scale efforts. He held public meetings, conducted extensive door-to-door outreach and built a booth-level organisation across the constituency, giving his fledgling party an early advantage.Kishor framed the bypoll as a “referendum on the Samrat Choudhary government”. The BJP, meanwhile, treated Bankipur as a prestige battle, deploying around 40 star campaigners and thousands of party workers in an effort to retain the seat.- EndsPublished By: Aprameya RaoPublished On: Aug 4, 2026 16:43 IST