PATNA, July 6 -- The Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) on Sunday officially announced its founder Prashant Kishor as a candidate for the upcoming bypoll to Bihar's Bankipur assembly seat, set to be held on July 30, terming it a "referendum" on the BJP-led government's performance in the state. The decision was taken unanimously during the party's core committee meeting. Announcing the candidacy, JSP president Manoj Bharti said Kishor's nomination was "in keeping with the desires of the people of Bankipur." Kishor, who did not contest a seat in his party's first assembly poll battle in November 2025, is now set to contest the prestigious Bankipur seat in Bihar, which was vacated by BJP national president Nitin Nabin. "I thank the senior party leaders for reposing faith in me. For the last four years, Jan Suraj has been my lifeline and it will remain so at least for the next 10 years until the change in Bihar is achieved. I consider contesting election from Bankipur a step in that direction. There was a strong appreciation for Jan Suraj ideology but it ended in disappointment in 2025, but people feel that Bankipur could revitalise things to send a strong message for positive change in Bihar," he said. He also thanked "nearly 18 lakh (1.8 million) people who voted for the Jan Suraaj in November 2025 and the voters of Bankipur who wanted me to contest from here". The announcement comes months after the JSP's electoral debut ended in a rout. The party contested 238 of Bihar's 243 assembly seats but failed to win a single constituency. The Bankipur assembly seat, considered a BJP bastion, has been represented by Nitin Nabin five times, while his late father, Navin Kishore Prasad Sinha, had won the seat, then known as Patna West, three times (1995 and both the February and October 2005 state elections). While the BJP and the RJD are yet to announce their candidates, Tej Pratap Yadav's Janshakti Janata Dal has named social activist Veena Manvi as its candidate for the bypoll....