Prashant Kishor is a fox: Misa Bharti calls him BJP's real candidate in Bankipur

While several Opposition leaders congratulated Prashant Kishor on his historic victory in Bankipur, RJD MP Misa Bharti struck a sharply different note, calling him a “fox” and alleging that his candidature had the tacit backing of the BJP.Speaking to India Today TV, Bharti played down the election strategist-turned-politician’s win and claimed that Kishor, rather than the BJP’s official nominee Neeraj Kumar, was the party’s real candidate.“You may think the BJP’s candidate was Neeraj Kumar, but he was not the real candidate. The candidate was Prashant Kishor,” she said.Bharti alleged that the BJP had propped up Kishor to take on the RJD in Bankipur, a constituency long considered one of the party’s strongest urban bastions. “We accept the people’s verdict. But one must remember that Bankipur is a staunchly pro-BJP constituency,” she added.NOT A SETBACK FOR BJP, CLAIMS BHARTIBharti further argued that the defeat of the BJP’s official candidate did not necessarily amount to a political setback for the party. “The BJP candidate has been defeated. But if Prashant Kishor has won from there, then, in a way, it is still the BJP that has won,” she claimed.She also questioned the BJP’s choice of candidate and alleged that the party had indirectly backed Kishor after concluding that it could not retain the seat on its own.“Look at how the candidates were changed. Why was the BJP candidate replaced? It appears that the BJP did not believe it could win on its own, which is why Prashant Kishor was fielded,” Bharti alleged.The RJD leader also sought to puncture the enthusiasm surrounding Kishor’s campaign, arguing that several of the promises he made to Bankipur voters were too ambitious to fulfil.“During the campaign, Prashant Kishor made many promises. Some of them seem impossible to fulfil,” she said.#WATCH | Delhi | As Jan Suraaj Chief Prashant Kishor continues his lead in the Bankipur bypoll, RJD MP Misa Bharti says, "The BJP candidate has been defeated. But if Prashant Kishore is winning from there, then in a way it is still the BJP that has won. Look at the way the pic.twitter.com/0Jo9684HNy— ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2026DEFENDS TEJASHWI’S ABSENCE IN BANKIPURBharti rejected criticism that the RJD had mounted a lacklustre campaign and defended Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav’s absence from the constituency.“He was on a personal visit and was therefore unavailable,” she said.She then turned the criticism towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioning his foreign engagements while student protests over the NEET controversy were unfolding in India.“Was giving Melody toffees to the Italian Prime Minister official work?” Bharti asked, referring to PM Modi’s viral video from his visit to Italy in May.PRASHANT KISHOR’S BANKIPUR VICTORYIn the Bankipur bypoll, Kishor stayed ahead of BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha through all 36 rounds of counting before winning by 19,324 votes.The Jan Suraaj founder polled 64,151 votes, while Sinha secured 44,827. RJD candidate Rekha Kumari finished a distant third with 14,273 votes.The victory opened Jan Suraaj’s electoral account and ended the BJP’s uninterrupted 35-year hold over one of its strongest bastions in Bihar.The bypoll was necessitated after BJP national president Nitin Nabin vacated the Bankipur seat before entering the Rajya Sabha.- EndsPublished By: Aprameya RaoPublished On: Aug 3, 2026 22:53 IST