Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has attributed his Bankipur by-election victory to a shift in voter sentiment and growing demand for change in Bihar politics. In an interview after defeating the BJP’s long-held stronghold, Kishor said that while his campaign in Bankipur lasted around a month, his political groundwork across Bihar had been continuing for nearly three years. Kishor claimed that the BJP’s defeat was a result of public dissatisfaction with what he described as political overconfidence. He argued that voters were moving beyond traditional appeals based on caste, religion, and fear of rival parties, and were looking for issues such as education, employment, and development. Responding to questions about Jan Suraaj’s poor performance in the previous Bihar Assembly elections, Kishor said that political trust takes time to build. He said voters in Bankipur supported his party without the fear that voting for Jan Suraaj would benefit either the BJP or the RJD, creating space for a new political alternative. Kishor also highlighted the scale of the BJP’s defeat, claiming that the party lost support across a large number of polling booths compared to its previous performance. He said the result should encourage the BJP leadership to analyse what changed among its voters. On whether the result was a message to the BJP’s central leadership, Kishor said voters use elections to communicate their expectations and demanded a focus on governance, education, jobs, and reducing migration from Bihar.
