- Bankipur bypoll gains attention due to Prashant Kishor and Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation
- BJP national president Nitin Nabin remains confident of his party's prospects
- Nitin Nabin campaigns for BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha, highlighting youth support for the party
The nondescript Bankipur bypoll in Bihar is now making national headlines. Two factors have made the bypoll interesting -- Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor throwing his hat into the ring and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigning in the wake of the Gen Z protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. While poll pundits wait to discern the impact of these developments on the BJP's political influence in the state, the party's national president, Nitin Nabin, is unfazed.
NDTV caught up with the BJP chief when he was campaigning for the party candidate, Neeraj Kumar Sinha, in Bankipur. Asked if the agitation would cast a shadow on the party's poll prospects, he replied in the negative. He pointed at the crowd that had turned up to see his roadshow and said the "youth is standing with the BJP".
"The youth of today is with Narendra Modi, Samrat Chowdhury and especially with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)," he told NDTV.
Bankipur has been Nitin Nabin's stronghold. He vacated the seat to move to national politics and the Rajya Sabha.
"The seat is home to the BJP and the NDA. And today, you can see the blessings and support of the people," he said.
BJP Chief Nitin Nabin On Prashant Kishor Factor In Bankipur Bypoll @prabhakarjourno pic.twitter.com/Pc2R1GTePo
— NDTV (@ndtv) July 27, 2026
Nitin Nabin has thrown his full weight behind the BJP candidate.
"I believe that Neeraj Sinha has been given a ticket as an ordinary worker of the party," he said.
Talking about Prashant Kishor's entry into politics, he said: "I believe that the people who work for everyone are from the BJP and the NDA. We are loved in every house. Who comes, who goes doesn't affect the health of the BJP and the NDA. Because we live for the people. People come from outside and do nothing here".
The polling for the seat is scheduled on July 30. Counting of votes will be on August 3.
Nitin Nabin had won the previous four assembly elections from Bankipur.
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj couldn't win any seat in the 2025 assembly polls. Bankipur bypoll is his first-ever election as a candidate.
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