The Bharatiya Janata Party's performance in the 2026 byelections in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat was quite disappointing after it lost the Bankipur seat to Jan Suraaj's Prashant Kishor and the Datia constituency to the Congress, while only managing to retain Manjalpur.
Of these, the loss in Bankipur was particularly significant, as the BJP has won this seat consecutively since 1995. Moreover, the seat has long been a stronghold of BJP national president Nitin Nabin, and therefore, the loss is more disappointing.
Various factors could be attributed to BJP's loss in Bankipur. Foremost, the saffron party was quite overconfident about winning this seat, and the BJP leaders kept saying that it would retain Bankipur no matter who was fielded. This was well exploited by Kishor, with Jan Suraaj workers targeting the BJP over its overconfidence.
No clear strategy?
Also, the BJP's strategy regarding the candidates was never clear. The party had first fielded Abhishek Kumar Sinha alias 'Bunty' but later replaced him with Neeraj Kumar. While officially, Sinha said he pulled out of the race a day after filing his nomination due to 'family reasons', sources told India TV that he was replaced with Kumar because of his links with the infamous fodder scam.
According to sources, Sinha's father Ravindra Prasad, who worked as a manager at the Magadh Chemicals Corporation, is a convict in the fodder scam. He was accused of conspiring with government officials to siphon off public funds through fake bills.
Prasad was among the 75 people convicted by a CBI court in 2022 in the fodder scam. The CBI had also filed three chargesheets between 2001 and 2003, and Prasad was named as one of the accused. For this, he was sentenced to three years in prison, sources told India TV.
Kishor's outreach to people
While the BJP stayed overconfident, Kishor decided to work on the ground, and Jan Suraaj galvanised its workers in reaching out to people. Kishor had given clear instructions to party workers that they must stay connected to people and garner support for Jan Suraaj, while highlighting how the BJP has failed to deliver in Bankipur.
On one instance, Jan Suraaj workers were even seen cleaning a drain in Bankipur in its attempt to stay connected to the ground. Further, the party kept highlighting the common issues, which eventually brought a change in the people's mindset.
For Kishor, the byelection was a litmus test, and he passed it with flying colours. Now, the election strategist-turned-politician has clearly stated that the result highlights that Bihar wants to be governed by a "good leader".
"The victory is a wake-up call for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who must install a new Chief Minister in place of Samrat Choudhary, a man with criminal antecedents," he told reporters, while taking a swipe at the Bihar chief minister. "On this occasion, besides thanking the common citizens, I would like to thank those who helped Jan Suraaj despite not being in the party."
What's next for BJP?
The loss in Bankipur has given BJP a chance to introspect. Party leaders, including Choudhary, have said they accept the mandate and will analyse what needs to be done next. Meanwhile, they have also congratulated Kishor over his rousing victory.
"We bow down before the will of the people. We shall draw lessons from the debacle, unlike our opponents who tend to blame every electoral loss of theirs on EVMs and the Election Commission," BJP's Bihar unit chief Sanjay Saraogi said.
What's the Jan Suraaj's victory margin?
Kishor won the seat by a margin of over 19,000 votes. He secured 64,151 votes, while Kumar received 44,827 votes. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) nominee Rekha Kumari was a distant third with 14,273 votes, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The polling in Bankipur was held on July 30. It was necessitated after Nabin resigned from the seat after being elected to the Rajya Sabha following being appointed as the BJP's national president.
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