India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
A day after the NDA suffered a major setback in Bihar’s Bankipur Assembly by-election, JD(U) supremo and former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The meeting, held at the Prime Minister’s office in the Parliament House complex, comes amid heightened political interest following the BJP’s loss in a constituency that had long been considered its stronghold.
JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar met PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi following the NDA’s significant defeat in Bihar’s Bankipur Assembly by-election, where Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party secured a victory against the BJP candidate.
Nitish Kumar was accompanied by Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh and JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha during the meeting.
The Prime Minister’s Office later confirmed the interaction in a post on X, stating that Nitish Kumar had met Prime Minister Modi earlier in the day. Nitish described the interaction as a courtesy call.
Bankipur defeat rattles NDA
The meeting comes just a day after the BJP lost the Bankipur Assembly bypoll to Prashant Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party.
Prashant Kishor defeated BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar by 19,324 votes, delivering one of the biggest political upsets in Bihar. The by-election was necessitated after former BJP MLA Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha after taking over as the party’s state president.
The victory is seen as a significant breakthrough for Prashant Kishor, whose Jan Suraaj Party has been trying to establish itself as an alternative political force in Bihar.
Prashant Kishor’s message after victory
Reacting to the result, Prashant Kishor said his immediate focus would be on fulfilling the expectations of the people of Bankipur rather than making unrealistic promises.
He said residents would begin to notice improvements in the constituency over the next two to three months, while acknowledging that meaningful development would take time.
