Patna: Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor is set to face the biggest political test of his career as he prepares to make his electoral debut from the high-profile Bankipur assembly bypoll in Patna, a traditional BJP bastion. His decision comes despite the opposition making it clear it will not support him. The bypoll will be held on July 30.Prashant’s decision marks a major shift from his stand eight months ago when he chose not to contest the Nov 2025 assembly elections, although his party, Jan Suraaj, fielded candidates in almost all the 243 seats but failed to win any. The Bankipur bypoll was necessitated after BJP MLA Nitin Nabin, now the party’s national president, resigned following his election to the Rajya Sabha.Dealing a blow to Prashant’s prospects, the Grand Alliance has decided to field its own candidate. “The RJD is going to field its own candidate from Bankipur seat,” the party’s chief spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said on Sunday.The Congress also dismissed any possibility of supporting Jan Suraaj. “Why would the Congress support Jan Suraaj when we are a part of the Grand Alliance?” party spokesperson Rajesh Rathore asked. Referring to the last assembly election, he added, “Prashant announced to contest the last assembly polls but fled from the scene. Why should we trust him? At least, he is an election manager.”Prashant first shot to national prominence in 2014 after managing Narendra Modi’s successful Lok Sabha campaign, introducing innovative outreach programmes such as “Chai pe Charcha”, 3D rallies and “Run for Unity”.He later joined Nitish Kumar’s campaign for the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections and coined the slogan, “Bihar me bahar hai, Nitish-e Kumar hai”, which became widely popular. Following the victory, Nitish appointed him JD(U) vice-president in Oct 2018. However, differences over the Citizenship Amendment Act eventually led to his expulsion from the party.Jan Suraaj sought to emerge as an alternative to both the NDA and the Grand Alliance in the last Assembly election but failed to make an impact. The Bankipur bypoll now offers Prashant an opportunity to test his political appeal directly. A victory would mark a major breakthrough in his transition from election strategist to mass politician.
