Vote counting for Assembly bypolls in Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh underway: All eyes on Prashant Kishor

Counting of votes began on Monday (Aug 3) for bypolls for high-stakes Assembly constituencies of Datia in Madhya Pradesh, Bankipur in Bihar and Manjalpur in Gujarat. While Datia recorded a significant voter turnout of 71.42 per cent in the byelections held on Jul 30, Bankipur and Manjalpur witnessed low turnouts with 34.31 per cent and 37.50 per cent respectively.

The Datia Assembly seat fell vacant following the disqualification of Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti on April 2. The BJP has fielded Ashutosh Tiwari, while the Congress has nominated Ghanshyam Singh. The Manjalpur seat fell vacant following the demise of sitting BJP MLA Yogeshbhai Narandas Patel, who had won the seat in the past three elections. The contest is between the only two candidates, Satendrabhai Patel alias Satish Patel of the BJP and Bhikhabhai Rabari of the Congress.

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However, all the eyes are set on the high-voltage clash in Bankipur. Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishor threw his hat in the ring against BJP's Neeraj Kumar Sinha and RJD's Rekha Kumari. The seat fell vacant after the resignation of BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP.

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Prashant Kishor's first electoral contest

Prashant Kishor, who did not contest the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, is contesting his first-ever election as a candidate in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll. The choice came as a surprise to many as it is traditionally considered a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The presence of Kishor has made the seat a high-profile one with the former election strategist accusing BJP of voter intimidation. High drama unfolded on the night of July 29, hours before voting began, as Prashant Kishor and a large group of supporters marched to Patna's Jakkanpur police station and alleged that the Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) acted under political influence to arrest or detain over 54 JSP leaders and supporters. He claimed they were shuffled between various stations without formal paperwork to disrupt their booth management. The Jan Suraaj Party officially moved the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the Patna police.

In a press conference ahead of the counting day, Kishor exuded confidence of victory. “The BJP will lose by such a big vote margin that they won't ever have the audacity to say that they can win even if they give election tickets to cats and dogs."

Kishor's performance in Bihar Elections 2025

Kishor's Jan Suraaj drew blank in Bihar Elections, despite contesting 238 of Bihar's 243 Assembly seats. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) registered a thumping victory with a total of 202 seats (BJP 89 and JDU 85, Chirag Paswan's LJP (Ram Vilas)19). The combined tally of Mahagathbandhan was 36, with RJD winning 25 out of 143 contested. Prashant Kishor took the blame for the poll loss and said that his party will analyse the reasons that led to the loss and promised to rectify the mistakes he and his party made in this year's election.