Will Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party enter Delhi after Bankipur bypoll win? Here's what we know
The Bankipur bypoll was held after five-term MLA Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his elevation as the BJP national president and his election to the Rajya Sabha.
- Sep 26, 2026,
- Updated Sep 26, 2026 9:36 AM IST
After its Bankipur bypoll win in Patna, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party is preparing to move beyond Bihar, with Delhi set to be its next political stop. Kishor will meet JSP supporters in the national capital on Sunday, where a steering committee to oversee the party’s affairs in Delhi is expected to be announced, The Indian Express reported, citing sources.
Founded by poll strategist-turned-politician Kishor on October 2, 2024, the JSP made its Assembly poll debut in the November 2025 Bihar elections. It contested 238 of the state’s 243 seats but failed to open its account. The BJP-led NDA won 202 seats, while the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan got 35. Kishor, however, returned to the spotlight in August this year by winning the high-profile Bankipur seat on his electoral debut.
JSP plans Delhi push
The Bankipur bypoll was held after five-term MLA Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his elevation as the BJP national president and his election to the Rajya Sabha. With that victory behind it, the JSP is now looking to build a foothold in Delhi, especially among the city’s sizeable Purvanchali population, a source said.
Many Purvanchali supporters of the JSP, who trace their roots to Bihar, are likely to attend Sunday’s meeting, which is to be held at Lok Kala Manch or Janpath’s Western Court. “The people in Delhi are tired of the BJP and the AAP. Moreover, they have seen Kishor’s vision for Bihar and Bankipur. We are hopeful of doing well in the national capital,” a party insider said.
The party is also finalising a site for its Delhi office. Sources said a couple of locations have been shortlisted, and only lease- and rent-related formalities are yet to be completed.
Steering committee likely on Sunday
The proposed steering committee is expected to be the first step towards setting up the party’s full Delhi unit. According to sources, those likely to be part of the panel include advocate Tathagath Harshwardhan, son of former Buxar MP K K Tiwari, who was the party’s Buxar candidate in the 2025 polls; Prof Shantanu Kumar of Deshbandhu College, Delhi University; and J P Singh, a former Additional Director General of Police of Himachal Pradesh who contested the Chapra seat on a party ticket.
Other leaders likely to be inducted include Kunwar Chandresh, the Bihar party unit’s intellectual cell head and former IES officer; advocate Abu Affan Farooquee, the Bihar unit’s minority wing chief and former AMU Students’ Union president; Priyanka Singh from the party’s Bihar Mahila wing; businessman Ajay Singh; and former ONGC director Badi Ud Doja, a prominent Seemanchal figure and son of former Bihar minister B Doja.
Sources said the committee will be tasked with putting in place the party’s structure and office-bearers in Delhi.
Party sets its sights on Delhi polls
Speaking to The Indian Express, Shantanu Kumar said: “Despite not having a party organisation in place in Delhi, we have been reaching out to people taking Kishor’s message and vision to them. The response has been positive.” Kumar said the JSP would contest all upcoming elections in Delhi, from the 2027 Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and the 2030 Assembly polls.
“Ours is an inclusive party, as people have seen in Bihar. We have no special focus on any particular community and will take along people from all economic and social strata of society, including Purvanchalis, which constitute around 25% of the electorate,” Kumar said.
He said the JSP’s USP would be to provide “out-of-the-box solutions” to problems faced by Delhi residents. “For instance, take the issue of air pollution and cleaning of Yamuna. There are mechanisms in place to tackle these issues but they are hardly effective. We will try to give innovative solutions to deal with them effectively,” he added.
Purvanchalis in Delhi, who hail from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, have long been an important factor in 15 to 20 Assembly seats. They are largely concentrated in the northeast, east and southeast parts of the capital. In the 2025 Delhi elections, the BJP returned to power by defeating the AAP led by three-term chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, winning 48 of 70 seats to the latter’s 22, while the Congress again drew a blank. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won all seven seats in Delhi for the third consecutive time since 2014.
After its Bankipur bypoll win in Patna, Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party is preparing to move beyond Bihar, with Delhi set to be its next political stop. Kishor will meet JSP supporters in the national capital on Sunday, where a steering committee to oversee the party’s affairs in Delhi is expected to be announced, The Indian Express reported, citing sources.
Founded by poll strategist-turned-politician Kishor on October 2, 2024, the JSP made its Assembly poll debut in the November 2025 Bihar elections. It contested 238 of the state’s 243 seats but failed to open its account. The BJP-led NDA won 202 seats, while the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan got 35. Kishor, however, returned to the spotlight in August this year by winning the high-profile Bankipur seat on his electoral debut.
JSP plans Delhi push
The Bankipur bypoll was held after five-term MLA Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his elevation as the BJP national president and his election to the Rajya Sabha. With that victory behind it, the JSP is now looking to build a foothold in Delhi, especially among the city’s sizeable Purvanchali population, a source said.
Many Purvanchali supporters of the JSP, who trace their roots to Bihar, are likely to attend Sunday’s meeting, which is to be held at Lok Kala Manch or Janpath’s Western Court. “The people in Delhi are tired of the BJP and the AAP. Moreover, they have seen Kishor’s vision for Bihar and Bankipur. We are hopeful of doing well in the national capital,” a party insider said.
The party is also finalising a site for its Delhi office. Sources said a couple of locations have been shortlisted, and only lease- and rent-related formalities are yet to be completed.
Steering committee likely on Sunday
The proposed steering committee is expected to be the first step towards setting up the party’s full Delhi unit. According to sources, those likely to be part of the panel include advocate Tathagath Harshwardhan, son of former Buxar MP K K Tiwari, who was the party’s Buxar candidate in the 2025 polls; Prof Shantanu Kumar of Deshbandhu College, Delhi University; and J P Singh, a former Additional Director General of Police of Himachal Pradesh who contested the Chapra seat on a party ticket.
Other leaders likely to be inducted include Kunwar Chandresh, the Bihar party unit’s intellectual cell head and former IES officer; advocate Abu Affan Farooquee, the Bihar unit’s minority wing chief and former AMU Students’ Union president; Priyanka Singh from the party’s Bihar Mahila wing; businessman Ajay Singh; and former ONGC director Badi Ud Doja, a prominent Seemanchal figure and son of former Bihar minister B Doja.
Sources said the committee will be tasked with putting in place the party’s structure and office-bearers in Delhi.
Party sets its sights on Delhi polls
Speaking to The Indian Express, Shantanu Kumar said: “Despite not having a party organisation in place in Delhi, we have been reaching out to people taking Kishor’s message and vision to them. The response has been positive.” Kumar said the JSP would contest all upcoming elections in Delhi, from the 2027 Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections and the 2030 Assembly polls.
“Ours is an inclusive party, as people have seen in Bihar. We have no special focus on any particular community and will take along people from all economic and social strata of society, including Purvanchalis, which constitute around 25% of the electorate,” Kumar said.
He said the JSP’s USP would be to provide “out-of-the-box solutions” to problems faced by Delhi residents. “For instance, take the issue of air pollution and cleaning of Yamuna. There are mechanisms in place to tackle these issues but they are hardly effective. We will try to give innovative solutions to deal with them effectively,” he added.
Purvanchalis in Delhi, who hail from Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, have long been an important factor in 15 to 20 Assembly seats. They are largely concentrated in the northeast, east and southeast parts of the capital. In the 2025 Delhi elections, the BJP returned to power by defeating the AAP led by three-term chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, winning 48 of 70 seats to the latter’s 22, while the Congress again drew a blank. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won all seven seats in Delhi for the third consecutive time since 2014.