'Wake-up call for PM Modi': Prashant Kishor after Jan Suraaj topples BJP in Bankipur bypoll, says THIS on CM Samrat Choudhary

Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor has described the BJP's defeat in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll as a "wake-up call" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the party's central leadership to rethink its leadership in Bihar while firmly rejecting speculation about any future alliance with the BJP or the opposition INDIA bloc.

The remarks came a day after Kishor registered a landmark victory in the Bankipur by-election, ending the BJP's three-decade dominance in the constituency. The victory marks Kishor's first electoral success as a candidate and gives the Jan Suraaj Party its maiden representation in the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar by more than 19,000 votes, a result widely seen as a major political setback for the BJP ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.

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'Wake-Up Call' for PM Modi

Addressing reporters after the result, Kishor said the Bankipur verdict carried a message for the BJP's top leadership.

"The electoral verdict in Bankipur is a wake-up call for Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Kishor said according to PTI, urging the BJP to replace Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary with "a decent person" if it wants to strengthen its prospects in the state.

He argued that if the BJP wants to continue with an Other Backward Classes (OBC) chief minister, it should choose "someone who is educated and has a clean record." Kishor maintained that his criticism was not directed at the BJP as a party but at its leadership in Bihar, saying voters wanted better governance, jobs, education and development.

Our alliance is with the people of Bihar

Rejecting reports that the Bankipur victory could push Jan Suraaj towards an alliance with either the BJP-led NDA or the opposition INDIA bloc, Kishor made his position unequivocal. "We shall have no alliance. Our alliance shall be with the people of Bihar," he said.

He claimed that many supporters of the BJP, Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) quietly backed Jan Suraaj in the bypoll because they had become disillusioned with their respective parties. "Besides thanking the common citizens, I would like to thank those who helped Jan Suraaj despite not being in the party. Such people were in all parties - BJP, RJD, as well as the Congress," Kishor said according to PTI.

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Historic win in BJP stronghold

Bankipur had remained with the BJP since 1995, making Kishor's victory one of the biggest political upsets in Bihar in recent years. The by-election was necessitated after former BJP MLA Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha.