New Delhi, 03 August—In a major setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party lost two assembly byelections in party ruled Bihar and Madhya Pradesh as Jan Suraj founder Prashant Kishor won the prestigious Bankipur assembly sear ending the saffron party’s 22-year grip on the Bankipur Assembly seat and the Congress retaining the Datia seat.
While the saffron party retained Manjalpur in Gujarat’s Vadodara district, a result widely expected, the defeats in Bankipur and Datia are being seen as significant blows to the saffron party in two BJP-ruled states, and a shot in the arm for the opposition.
The JSP’s (Jan Suaraj Party) win has secured Kishor’s party’s first-ever seat in the state legislature after zero in the assembly elections last year.
The by-election was necessitated following the resignation of BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who gave up the seat in April upon election to the Rajya Sabha.
Congress’ Kuwar Ghanshyam Singh defeated BJP’s Ashutosh Tiwari in Datia.
Datia is also a political stronghold of BJP’s former state minister Narottam Mishra, who was denied a ticket in the by poll after losing the last Assembly election. The BJP fielded Ashutosh Tiwari—a decision that triggered internal discontent and perhaps also hurt the party’s prospects.
A day before the results, the Congress suspended former MLA Rajendra Bharti, whose disqualification necessitated the bye poll. Despite the controversy, the Congress managed to retain the seat.
The victories in Bankipur and Datia will not affect the stability of the BJP governments in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, but they can reshape the political narratives. The results are also being viewed as a verdict on BJP chief ministers — Samrat Choudhary in Bihar and Mohan Yadav in Madhya Pradesh.
“This is the beginning of a golden age for our party,” said bureaucrat-turned-politician Manoj Bharti, who is the state president of the Jan Suraaj Party. “In a democracy, the will of the people is supreme. The verdict is a message to parties and leaders who arrogantly think of constituencies as fiefdoms”.
The BJP was confident of a win in Bankipur.
“Even if we field a dog or a cat on a BJP ticket in Bankipur, it will win,” former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was reported to have said during the Bankipur Assembly bypoll campaign. Prasad later denied making the remark.
Nabin had won the seat by over 51,936 votes in the 2025 Assembly polls.
On Monday, videos of BJP workers in Patna preparing victory laddus for candidate Neeraj Sinha surfaced online while counting was still underway.
Social media users suggested changing the delivery address.
“Send these laddus to PK’s office,” wrote one user.
The bypoll was held following the death of veteran BJP MLA Yogeshbhai Narandas Patel, who previously won the seat in 2012, 2017, and 2022.
Kishor characterised the bypoll as a referendum on Samrat Choudhary-led BJP government in the state. It also comes at a time when the BJP’s central regime led by PM Narendra Modi is facing criticism over recent youth protests.
The JSP polled about 50% of the votes and led across the rounds of counting up to the 31st, against BJP’s Neeraj Kumar Sinha and RJD’s Rekha Gupta. The Election Commission of India later showed five additional rounds pending for counting, at which point PK’s lead was around 19,000, as of 6 pm..
Kishor described it as “the victory of the people of Bankipur” and reiterated that the contest was not a usual election. “As we stated during the election campaign, this was not just an election to choose an MLA. It was an attempt by the people of Bihar to send a message to the BJP’s central leadership that they should appoint a good person as the Chief Minister of Bihar,” Kishor said.
He said the people of Bihar wanted a chief minister who could improve education, generate employment for the youth and curb migration from the state.
“The important point is that Bihar needs good leadership and real development… We do not want to become MLAs merely to award contracts. Our sole objective is the development of Bihar,” he added
The BJP’s campaign saw an unexpected twist after the party replaced its original nominee, Abhishek Kumar Sinha, less than 30 hours after he filed his nomination papers. Citing “family reasons”, the BJP withdrew his candidature and fielded 32-year-old Neeraj Kumar Sinha instead. The party did not explain the sudden change, though his family later cited the naming of his father in a fodder scam-related case.
Bye election results need to be seen in the backdrop of the rising anger among the youth who forced one of the ministers of the Modi government to step down. Modi’s popular Teflon image is beginning to crack.
The message from Madhya Pradesh is not only a challenge to state Chief Minister Mohan Yadav but also to Minister of Communication Jyotiraditya M Scindia as Datia is the part of the Gwalior region.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
