PATNA, July 6 -- Ending all speculations, Jan Suraaj Party on Sunday officially announced its founder Prashant Kishor as the party candidate from Bankipur, which will go to the bypoll on July 30. After the party's core committee meeting, Jan Suraaj state president Manoj Bharti in a press conference announced the unanimous choice of Kishor "in keeping with the desire of the people of Bankipur". "I thank the senior party leaders for reposing faith in me. For the last four years, Jan Suraaj 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 Suraaj's ideology but it ended in disappointment in 2025. However, people feel that Bankipur could revitalise things to send a strong message for positive change in Bihar," Kishor said, while addressing the media. Kishor thanked "nearly 1.8 million who voted for the Jan Suraaj in November 2025 and the voters of Bankipur who wanted him to contest from here to usher in change". "All I can assure is that I will not leave any stone unturned to live up to people's aspirations if I win the seat. One MLA may not be enough to transform Bankipur, but your one MLA will carry more weight than 242 others. This election will be a referendum on Samrat Choudhary-led NDA government. If the BJP wins Bankipur, I will have no problem in accepting that the BJP's policies have the endorsement of the people. But if the BJP loses, it will send a direct message that they don't approve of the way BJP is running the government," he added. He said that Samrat Choudhary was not an "elected CM, as the people had voted on the face of Nitish Kumar, and he came from the backdoor". "This is now the responsibility of the most enlightened voters of Bihar in Bankipur to elect the most eligible candidate to change the politics of the state. This election will not change the government, but may change the direction of politics in the state," he added. The party has been working in Bankipur constituency for the last couple of months, attacking the BJP with a slogan "Sahi Soch, Sahi Log, Samuhik Sankalp (Right people, right thinking, and collective effort)". The Bankipur seat had fallen vacant after the election of BJP national president Nitin Nabin to the Rajya Sabha. Nabin represented the seat, considered a BJP bastion, five times, while his father late 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 main Opposition party, the RJD, are yet to announce their candidates for the seat, Tej Pratap Yadav's Janshakti Janata Dal has declared Patna-based social activist Veena Manvi as the candidate for the bypoll. Speculations are rife that the Opposition might not seriously contest the election to indirectly back Jan Suraaj Party to make a dent on the BJP bastion and send a strong message across after the drubbing in the 2025 Assembly election. However, Kishor said that he was seeking support from all, including the BJP, to change the course of Bihar's politics. "I tried for three years, but could not convince the people for change in Bihar last time, but Bankipur people can do it to set the tone," he added. The last date for filing nominations is July 13, while counting of votes will happen on August 3. The bypoll is as much crucial for the BJP as the Jan Suraaj. While it will mark the electoral debut of Kishor and the party would try to salvage some pride after being blanked in the 2025 Assembly election, which he had not contested after all the hype, it will be the first election since CM Samrat Choudhary assumed power. Nitin Nabin also faces the first test since becoming the national president of the BJP on his home turf in his home state. Kishor, known for strategising election for several political parties, has been campaigning vigorously in Bankipur and describing it as a referendum on Samrat Choudhary, whom he often describes as "backdoor entry". "Only Jan Suraaj can beat the BJP in Bankipur, as both the RJD and Congress have had too many defeats in the past," he said. All through his campaigning so far, Kishor has been throwing ample hints about contesting election from Bankipur. "If people want, I can also contest the seat," he often said. In Bankipur, a constituency of Patna district, Kayasth community forms the single largest vote bloc (around 15% of voters), but it also has substantial presence of other upper castes (such as Bhumihars, Rajputs, and Brahmins), Muslim voters, Yadavs and Lav-Kush (Kurmi and Kushwaha) communities. As far as BJP is considered, several names are doing the rounds, but even party leaders are not ready to hazard a guess despite exuding optimism of an easy victory....