Prashant Kishor to contest Bankipur bypoll, calls it 'referendum' on Bihar's BJP-led govt

PATNA: Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Sunday (July 5) threw his hat in the ring for the by-election to the Bankipur assembly seat in Bihar, terming it a "referendum" on the popularity of the BJP-led government in the state.

Addressing a press conference here, Kishor announced his decision to contest the seat, which has fallen vacant upon the resignation of BJP president Nitin Nabin, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP.

"The people of Bankipur are the richest and the most educated in Bihar. Let them vote for the best. If they feel they can repose their trust in me, I urge them to vote for me... Even as the lone MLA of my party, I shall outweigh the remaining 242 ones in the assembly," Kishor said.

The 48-year-old reiterated that BJP leader Samrat Choudhary became chief minister "without the people's mandate" as the NDA had won the assembly polls last year, declaring JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, who stepped down a couple of months ago, as its face.

"The upcoming bypoll is going to be a referendum on the working of the two-month-old government of Samrat Choudhary. If the BJP wins, I will have no hesitation in conceding that they continue to enjoy public support. If we win, it shall be for them to read the writing on the wall," the former poll strategist added.

Kishor, who had been dropping hints over the past few weeks that he was willing to contest the bypoll, said that a formal announcement was taken at a meeting of Jan Suraaj Party's core committee, held soon after the schedule for the by-election was announced last week.

Filing of nomination papers will begin on Monday and continue till July 13, while voting will take place on July 30, followed by the counting of votes on August 3.

The BJP, which seems confident of retaining the seat that it has been holding since the 1990s, is yet to declare its candidate.

The opposition RJD, Congress and Left combine is yet to reveal its cards.

Former minister Tej Pratap Yadav, who has floated Janshakti Janata Dal upon expulsion from the RJD by his father Lalu Prasad, has fielded a social activist Veena Manvi.