Bankipur bypoll: voters say the battle will be between BJP and JSP

Ahead of the byelection to the Bankipur Assembly constituency in Patna, residents said the contest this time will be between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate and Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor, who has thrown his hat into the ring. Mr. Kishor has been busy in the constituency, addressing nukkad (corner) meetings and going door to door to meet people.

The byelection will be held on July 30, and the result will be out on August 3. The seat fell vacant after sitting BJP MLA Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha after being named as the party’s national president. Mr. Nabin had won five consecutive times from Bankipur, which has been a BJP stronghold. The party has fielded a young leader, Abhishek Kumar Sinha ‘Bunty’, while the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal has repeated its candidate Rekha Gupta. In the 2025 Assembly election, Mr. Nabin received 98,299 votes (62.66%) to defeat Ms. Gupta, who got 46,363 votes (29.55%). The JSP’s Vandana Kumari had secured 7,717 votes (4.92%) while 1,464 voters (0.93%) opted for the None of The Above (NOTA) option.

Both Mr. Abhishek and Ms. Gupta filed their nomination papers on Thursday (July 9, 2026), while Mr. Kishor is expected to file his nomination on July 11.

“For the past several Assembly elections, I’ve been voting for the BJP, but now it [the party] has become depressing. I will not vote for the BJP this time, but the battle appears to be between Mr. Kishor and Mr. Abhishek Sinha,” said Suman Dhari Sinha, a septuagenarian resident of Kidwaipuri locality in Bankipur. Mr. Suman Sinha, who had dabbled in trading and agricultural inputs manufacturing, said Bankipur has traditionally been a BJP stronghold. “The BJP can do anything to win the poll, but don’t you remember even Indira Gandhi had lost election in this country? The BJP has become hopeless, quite depressing now,” he added.

A few yards away from his home, provision store owner Jyoti Kumar Verma, 50, asserted: “Only the BJP candidate will win. For the past nine Assembly elections [five terms for Mr. Nabin and four terms for his father Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha], people of the constituency have reposed faith in the party’s candidate… This time too, the candidate is local and personally knows everyone in the constituency… There is no match for the BJP.” He added, “With Mr. Kishor in the fray this time, the victory margin for the BJP candidate may be a little less, but we will vote for the BJP only.”

However, a young voter of Dakshin Mandiri locality near Kathpul, Sumit Kumar, 29, asked, “We need change... for how long will we keep voting for a single party?” Youngest of six siblings, Mr. Sumit Kumar works as a kitchen assistant in a private company. He is unequivocal about who he thinks are the main contestants. “The battle will be between Mr. Kishor and Mr. Abhishek. The BJP candidate may win this time, but the next election is going to be real tough for the BJP as we want change,” he said.

Bankipur is largely an urban constituency in central Patna with about 4 lakh voters and is dominated by Kayastha and Vaishya (trader) voters, besides a mixed population of other castes. The Kayastha community comprises about 15% to 20% of the electorate while the Vaishyas too reside in sizeable numbers. The BJP candidate is from the Kayastha community while the RJD candidate comes from the Vaishya community. Mr. Kishor belongs to the Brahmin community.

Mr. Nabin is likely to visit Patna on Friday (July 10, 2026) to attend a meeting of National Democratic Alliance leaders at Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s official residence at 1, Anne Marg in Patna. The meeting, among others, will discuss coordination among the ruling coalition partners and preparations for the Bankipur byelection.

(sending pictures of the vox pop on mail)