Live: Prashant Kishor takes early lead in Bankipur

Live blogPrashant Kishor's maiden electoral contest is under the spotlight as counting of votes for the high-stakes Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar is currently underway. The Jan Suraaj Party founder is attempting to wrest the BJP stronghold, vacated in April after former MLA and BJP national president Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Counting is taking place under tight security and is expected to conclude after 31 rounds, with the BJP fielding Neeraj Kumar Sinha and the RJD once again backing Rekha Gupta. The bypoll, held on July 30, recorded a voter turnout of 34.30 per cent, down by more than 7 per cent from the 41.45 per cent registered in the last Assembly elections. A total of 26 candidates are in the fray this time. Follow IndiaToday.in for all the latest updates....Read MorePrashant Kishor's maiden electoral contest is under the spotlight in Bankipur. 9PTI Photo)Aug 3, 2026 09:48 ISTBankipur By-Election Result: Prashant Kishor gains early edge over BJP in BankipurJan Suraaj Party's Prashant Kishor has taken an early lead in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll, leading BJP's Neeraj Kumar by 862 votes at the end of the first round of counting. Aug 3, 2026 09:29 ISTBankipur By-Election Result Live: Bankipur's fate to be sealed today after 31 rounds of countingThe fate of candidates in the Bankipur Assembly by-election will be decided after 31 rounds of counting. In each round, votes from 14 EVMs will be counted simultaneously across 14 tables at the counting centre set up at AN College in Patna.Aug 3, 2026 08:59 ISTBankipur By-Election Result: Heavy security deployed at Patna counting centreSecurity has been intensified at the AN College counting centre in Patna as the counting of votes for the Bankipur Assembly by-election is underway. Multi-layer security arrangements have been put in place to ensure the counting process remains smooth and peaceful, with visuals from the venue showing a heavy deployment of police personnel and restricted access around the counting centre. The bypoll is being closely watched as Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor makes his electoral debut against the BJP in one of its traditional strongholds. Aug 3, 2026 08:43 ISTBankipur By-Election Result: Fake voting charges dominated polling dayPolling day in the Bankipur by-election was marked by a sharp political face-off after the BJP accused Jan Suraaj Party workers of attempting to facilitate "fraudulent voting" and urged the Election Commission to tighten voter verification. In a letter to the Returning Officer, BJP state general secretary Nitin Abhishek on July 30 claimed such practices threatened the integrity of the electoral process. Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor, however, dismissed the allegations and turned the attack back on the BJP, saying the party had "done something constructive for the first time" by asking the Election Commission to conduct stricter scrutiny of EPIC cards to curb bogus voting. The exchange underscored the high stakes in the bypoll, where Kishor is making his electoral debut against the BJP in one of its strongest bastions. Aug 3, 2026 08:38 ISTBankipur By-Election Result Live: A BJP bastion faces its biggest testThe Bankipur bypoll was necessitated after BJP national president Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha in April. Nabin had retained the constituency for a fifth straight term in the 2025 Assembly elections, defeating the RJD's Rekha Gupta by more than 50,000 votes. Gupta is once again the RJD's candidate, while the spotlight remains on Prashant Kishor, the former election strategist and Jan Suraaj Party founder, who is making his electoral debut. The BJP has fielded youth leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha as it seeks to retain a constituency it has held continuously since 1995, when the seat was known as Patna West.Aug 3, 2026 08:35 ISTBankipur Bypoll Result: Low turnout, high stakes - 26 candidates await verdictThe Bankipur Assembly by-election, held on July 30, recorded a voter turnout of 34.30 per cent, marking a drop of more than seven percentage points from the 41.45 per cent polling recorded during the last Assembly election. A total of 26 candidates are in the fray, with the outcome expected to determine whether the BJP retains its long-held stronghold or faces an upset in one of Bihar's most closely watched bypolls.Aug 3, 2026 08:33 ISTBankipur By-Election Result: Prashant Kishor accuses Patna SSP of influencing pollsHours before the counting of votes in the high-stakes Bankipur Assembly by-election, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has accused the Patna Police of attempting to influence the election. In a press conference late Sunday night, he claimed campaign workers were illegally detained, voters were intimidated, and announced that his party would approach the Election Commission and the Supreme Court over the alleged irregularities. Displaying a notice issued by the Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kishor said the administration had detained people who had come from outside to campaign on the grounds that they could create a law-and-order problem. He also presented some of the detained individuals before the media. Questioning the police action, he asked, "How can a person sleeping at home violate Section 144?" He further alleged that police personnel openly moved around Ward No. 22, threatening residents and preventing them from exercising their franchise. Launching a sharp attack on the Patna SSP, Kishor called him "unprofessional" and referred to the officer's earlier handling of the death of a NEET aspirant, claiming the same officer had prematurely declared it a suicide. Calling the alleged actions of the administration a "naked dance", Kishor accused the SSP of using the uniform to influence the election. "If the Patna SSP wants to enter politics, he should resign from service," he said. Kishor said his party would file a formal complaint with the Election Commission within the next two days and, if necessary, move the Supreme Court. Projecting confidence ahead of the results, the Jan Suraaj chief also claimed that the BJP would lose the by-election by such a wide margin that it would "forget the saying that it can field even a cat or a dog and still win the election." (Shashi Bhushan inputs)