Nitish Kumar Backs BJP's Neeraj Sinha Against Old Aide Prashant Kishor In Bankipur

On Tuesday, Former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, published a video message backing National Democratic Alliance candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha in the Bankipur byelection. He urged electors to choose the Lotus symbol when they cast their ballots.

"With your trust, cooperation and blessings, we have worked over the past two decades to ensure good governance and fulfil our resolve of building a developed Bihar. To continue this journey, every single one of your votes is important," Kumar said in his message.

The JD(U)-BJP coalition is framing this election as a test of its administrative record with the contest growing significantly tighter than the ruling alliance originally expected.

Kishor Mounts Aggressive Challenge

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor is treating the byelection as a referendum on Bihar's BJP-led administration. He started his campaign activities in the area several months before the Election Commission declared the polling schedule.

Kishor is a seasoned strategist having previously ran campaigns for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal. A Jan Suraaj victory would send a warning to the NDA leadership without risking government stability, Kishor said. The ruling alliance currently holds a comfortable majority in the Assembly.

His party failed to secure a single constituency during last year's Assembly elections. Kishor now views this urban seat contest as a significant opportunity for his organisation's political revival.

The former strategist is directly targeting Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary raising issues concerning unemployment, corruption, administrative performance and recent law-and-order failures while trying to attract voters across traditional caste barriers.

NDA Rallies Behind Sinha

The byelection was triggered by five-time BJP MLA Nitin Nabin vacating the seat after entering the Rajya Sabha and becoming the BJP national president. Despite his new national role, Nabin remains active on the ground, leading public rallies and door-to-door campaigns.

The ruling party faced an early complication when its original nominee, Abhishek Kumar 'Bunty', withdrew from the contest. After he cited family issues a day after filing his nomination papers, the BJP swiftly replaced him with youth leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha, a member of the Kayastha community like Nabin, which dominates the caste arithmetic of the constituency.

The NDA has launched a high-profile campaign to protect its historical stronghold dispatching senior figures, including Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Nityanand Rai, alongside Patna Sahib MP Ravi Shankar Prasad and BJP leaders Manoj Tiwari, Pawan Singh and Maithili Thakur.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal has also intensified its campaign for candidate Rekha Gupta. Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav has highlighted recent student protests regarding examination anomalies and the subsequent police action as primary election issues.