- Prashant Kishor's election affidavit shows assets worth Rs 96 crore for Bankipur bypoll in Bihar
- Kishor declared movable assets worth Rs 22.19 crore and immovable assets to the tune of Rs 73.87 crore
- The 49-year-old leader is making his electoral debut in this bypoll
Prashant Kishor, a candidate for the Bankipur bypoll in Bihar, has assets worth Rs 96 crore, according to his election affidavit.
In the affidavit filed before the Returning Officer, Kishor declared movable assets worth Rs 22.19 crore and immovable assets to the tune of Rs 73.87 crore. His wife, Jahnavi Das, a medical practitioner from Assam, owns Rs 89.51 crore in movable assets and Rs 12.42 crore in immovable property.
Kishor, a poll strategist-turned-politician, is seeking to win the seat vacated by BJP chief Nitin Nabin a couple of months ago. The BJP has fielded Neeraj Kumar Sinha, a 32-year-old Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader, after Abhishek Kumar "Bunty" withdrew from the contest.
"This is not just my 'naamankan' (nomination) but a call for political change in Bihar, where people with criminal records must give up their chairs," Kishor said on Monday.
Before filing his nomination papers, Kishor offered prayers at the Baba Hariharnath Temple in Sonepur. Accompanied by a large number of supporters and party workers, he later marched to the collectorate from the Scout Guide Ground near the Sinha Library in Patna.
His Journey
Following the Bengal election results on May 2, 2021, Kishor announced his retirement from political consultancy and relocated to Bihar. On October 2, 2022, he launched the Jan Suraaj Abhiyan and began a padyatra (foot march), declaring he would no longer devise election strategies for external political parties. While Jan Suraaj made its formal political debut in the Bihar elections earlier this year, it failed to win any seats. Kishor, the 49-year-old party founder who had opted out of polls, is making his poll debut with this bypoll.
Financials and Liabilities
Kishor's affidavit shows he currently holds a Rs 5.77 crore bank loan.
His wife owns two flats and holds a one-third share in a bungalow in Guwahati, alongside additional property in Noida. Kishor himself owns two flats in an apartment complex in Ghaziabad, holds a 50% share in two other flats, and owns plots in Patna's Pataliputra Colony and Delhi's Vasant Vihar, as well as properties in Buxar and his ancestral village.
Furthermore, Kishor is the owner of Vedha Venture Private Limited. The company donated Rs 85 crore to Jan Suraaj in 2024-25, following donations of Rs 50 lakh to the Jan Suraaj Foundation and Rs 2.75 crore to the Joy of Giving in 2023-24.
Legal and Educational Background
The affidavit lists eight cases registered against Kishor, with charges ranging from defamation and obstructing official duty to fraud. However, charges have not yet been framed in any of these cases.
Kishor graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from the University of Lucknow before completing a Master of Healthcare Management course from the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) in Hyderabad. He has also completed a certification course in the French language.
