- By Priyanka Koul
- Mon, 03 Aug 2026 04:00 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Two Independent candidates in the Bankipur by-election share names with Bihar's major political leaders, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav.
- The main contest is between Prashant Kishor (Jan Suraaj Party), Neeraj Kumar (BJP), and Rekha Gupta (RJD), with Bankipur being a traditional BJP stronghold.
- The ruling NDA considers early vote trends inconclusive, emphasizing that the outcome of one Assembly seat will not change Bihar’s political landscape.
Bankipur Bypoll Results: As votes are being counted in the high-stakes Bankipur Assembly by-election in Bihar, an unusual coincidence has caught attention. Among the 25 candidates in the fray are two Independents who share their names with two of Bihar's biggest political figures.
An Independent candidate named Nitish Kumar had secured just 114 votes as of 3:30 pm, trailing the frontrunners by more than 44,000 votes. Another Independent candidate, Lalu Prasad Yadav, had received only 71 votes by the same time and was also trailing by over 44,000 votes. Even NOTA (None of the Above) had attracted more votes than either of them.
According to their affidavits available on the MyNeta portal, the Independent Nitish Kumar, 25, is an elector from the Banmankhi Assembly constituency. He holds a Master of Arts in Hindi from Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi (2021-23) and has listed his occupation as a consultant.
The other Independent candidate, Lalu Prasad Yadav, is an elector from the Marhaura Assembly constituency. As per his affidavit, he is a farmer by profession and has completed Intermediate (Class 12) from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru College, Marhaura, in 1997.
The coincidence has drawn attention because the two independent candidates share their names with two of Bihar's most prominent political figures--former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD founder and former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. However, both independent candidates have managed only a fraction of the votes.
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Meanwhile, trends from the Bankipur Assembly by-election on Monday showed Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor leading with over 12,000 votes, while BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar was trailing with 12,809 votes as of 3:30 pm, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI) website.
The ruling NDA dismissed the lead as an early trend, asserting that the outcome of a single Assembly seat does not redefine Bihar's political landscape.
Bankipur, which falls under the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, has long been considered a BJP stronghold. The seat was represented by BJP leader Nitin Nabin from 2010 until he vacated it after being elected to the Rajya Sabha. Before him, the constituency was represented by his father, Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha, making it one of the BJP's most established urban bastions in Bihar.
The Bankipur Assembly bypoll was called following Nitin Nabin's resignation from the Assembly after he was elected to the Rajya Sabha. The constituency recorded a voter turnout of 34.30 per cent on July 30. A total of 25 candidates are in the fray, with votes from around 1.30 lakh electors being counted.
The contest has effectively narrowed to a three-cornered race between Prashant Kishor of the Jan Suraaj Party, Neeraj Kumar of the BJP, and Rekha Gupta of the RJD.