Kathmandu— Prashant Kishor, founder of Jan Suraaj Party and a prominent election strategist, has widened his lead in the Bankipur Assembly by-election against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha. After the third round of counting on Monday, Kishor is ahead with 5,032 votes compared to Sinha's 3,870 votes, a margin of 1,162 votes.

Kishor Challenges BJP Stronghold

The Bankipur Assembly seat has long been considered a traditional BJP stronghold. However, Kishor’s candidacy marks the first direct electoral contest for him as an independent politician. Speaking to ANI earlier, he emphasized his intention to challenge voters' reliance on caste and religion in their voting decisions.

"When people start their electoral politics, they look for safe seats for themselves… I am doing the opposite because I am telling the people of Bihar that if Bihar is to change, they must vote beyond caste and religion," Kishor said.

Counting Continues Amid Security

Vote counting continues at a designated center in Patna with tight security arrangements. A total of 31 rounds are scheduled for the final result declaration. The Bankipur seat fell vacant after former MLA and BJP leader Nitin Nabin was elected to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year.

(With inputs from ANI)

Originally published on abcnews.com.np.