BJP candidate Abhishek Kumar (L), Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor. (Express Photo)The BJP on Tuesday named Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) state vice-president Abhishek Kumar as its candidate for the high-profile Bankipur Assembly bypoll, setting up a triangular contest against the RJD’s Rekha Gupta and Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor.The bypoll, scheduled for July 30, was necessitated after BJP MLA Nitin Nabin was elected the party’s national president and subsequently nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The BJP has held the seat, known as Patna West until the 2005 Assembly polls, continuously since 1995. Before that, Janata Party’s Thakur Prasad had won it in 1977.BJP national general secretary Arun Singh announced Kumar’s candidature. Bihar BJP media in-charge Danish Eqbal told The Indian Express: “Abhishek Kumar has been a committed worker of the party for 27 years. He has previously served as the Patna Mahanagar BJYM president and as a mandal head twice. He has risen to this level from being a booth president, which shows how much the party values its grassroots workers.”Read | Prashant Kishor’s Bankipur bet is about more than one Assembly seat2 factorsParty leaders said Kumar’s selection reflects the BJP’s preference for organisational workers with strong local roots. A BJP source said two factors worked in his favour.“First, he comes from the Kayastha community, which has a sizeable population in Bankipur. The party has always fielded a Kayastha candidate here, from Thakur Prasad to Naveen Kishore Sinha to his son Nitin Nabin. Second, Abhishek Kumar has been a close aide of Nitin Nabin and also enjoys the confidence of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary,” the source said. Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor with state party president Manoj Kumar Bhati and other leaders in Patna on Sunday. (Express Photo)While Kumar has not been part of the BJP’s core state leadership or held senior organisational posts such as state general secretary or state vice-president, he described his candidature as recognition of grassroots workers.“I am overwhelmed by the party’s decision. The party has honoured me by considering my candidature,” he said.Story continues below this adPrashant Kishor in frayThe contest has gained prominence after Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor decided to contest the bypoll himself, turning it into his first direct electoral battle. The RJD has once again fielded Rekha Gupta, who finished runner-up to Nitin Nabin in both the 2020 and 2025 Assembly elections.Kishor said, “No seat in a democracy can be the permanent citadel of a political party. It is the people who decide. This is not just about my attempt to win an Assembly seat, but about asking tough questions of the ruling establishment, which won the last elections on an overdose of populism… Since Bankipur is considered an elite constituency, I had all the more reason to contest from here.”RJD’s Rekha Gupta had secured 46,363 votes in the 2025 Assembly election. While the BJP is banking on its long-standing support among the constituency’s sizeable Kayastha electorate, the RJD hopes to consolidate its traditional social base and Gupta’s established support.Kishor’s entry, however, has altered the electoral calculus. Positioning the bypoll as a referendum on the NDA government in Bihar, Jan Suraaj has opted for an intensive door-to-door campaign and neighbourhood meetings instead of large public rallies. For the fledgling party, the Bankipur contest is also an opportunity to test its organisational strength in an urban constituency after failing to win a seat in the 2025 Assembly elections.Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. Expertise He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. ... Read More