Patna, Aug. 3 -- Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor took an early lead of 862 votes over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha after the first round of counting in the Bankipur Assembly bypoll on Monday, according to official figures released by the Election Commission.

As per the initial round-wise trends, Prashant Kishor secured 2,225 votes, while BJP's Neeraj Kumar Sinha polled 1,363 votes. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate Rekha Gupta was in the third position with 505 votes, trailing the leader by 1,720 votes.

The election marks the direct electoral debut of poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, whose performance is being closely watched in the state's political landscape.

Counting of vote...