Prashant Kishor Confronts Patna Police Ahead of Bankipur Polls

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor and his supporters confronted Jakkanpur SHO Rituraj Kumar Singh on Wednesday night over the alleged detention of party workers. The midnight standoff occurred just hours before voting in the Bankipur assembly constituency byelection commenced on Thursday at 7:00 AM, which will continue until 6:00 PM.

Midnight Police Station Confrontation

High drama unfolded at the Jakkanpur police station on July 29 when Kishor accused the police of detaining JSP workers illegally before moving them to an unknown location. Kishor also said that the SHO claimed he did not know which superior officer issued the order for the detentions.

Kishor alleged that 16 of his supporters were picked up by police officers at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP engineered the detentions because the party knows it is going to lose the byelection, Kishor said.

He directed a warning at the local station house officer.

"...If any harm comes to them [party workers allegedly detained], Rituraj Kumar Singh, the SHO of Jakkanpur police station, will certainly lose his job. He should be well aware of that," Kishor said, as reported by ANI.

The politician claimed authorities held his workers without formal documentation.

"The entire public of Bihar has witnessed this: Rituraj Kumar Singh is the SHO here, and two people were brought in illegally. He detained them at the station for hours before having them transferred elsewhere," Kishor said.

Kishor contested the legal status of the police action.

"I am not describing these as arrests since there is no record of which of my people have been named in which case...the SHO here even claims that the police station was not involved in the detentions..." Kishor said, as reported by PTI.

Row Over Nitish Video

The political tension escalated after Janata Dal (United) MLC Neeraj Kumar filed a written complaint against Kishor at the Shastri Nagar police station on July 29. The complaint stems from Kishor's remarks labelling a Monday campaign video of Nitish Kumar seeking votes for the NDA a "deepfake". Kishor had said, "Realising that the ground was slipping from under its feet, the BJP even got a fake video of JD(U) president Nitish Kumar."

"We have submitted a complaint against Kishor...Kishor, who is reportedly an affluent individual with assets worth more than Rs 190 crore, has insulted the former CM," Kumar said. Kumar also questioned, "Has Nitish Kumar ever done anything artificial?"

The JD(U) leader urged the police to invoke provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 123(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

As of Thursday, Patna police have not registered a formal First Information Report, and police officers are currently reviewing the application before deciding on further action.

High Stakes Bankipur Byelection

Kishor is making his electoral debut in Bankipur. He faces Bharatiya Janata Party youth wing leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha in the contest.

The Bankipur seat was vacated by BJP legislator Nitin Nabin in April 2026 after his election to the Rajya Sabha. Around 3.80 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of 26 candidates in the byelection.

During the Bihar assembly polls held last year, Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party failed to win any seats.