Not Nitish Kumar but AI Nitish Kumar: PK dares BJP, says will quit Bihar poll race

Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Tuesday (July 28) accused the BJP-led NDA of using an AI-generated video of former Bihar CM and Rajya Sabha MP Nitish Kumar to influence voters in the Bankipur Assembly by-election, which will be held on Thursday (July 30). Kishor, who is contesting an election for the first time, challenged the BJP to prove the authenticity of the video, and declared that he would withdraw from the contest if the saffron party established that Nitish Kumar had indeed recorded the appeal.

The Bankipur Assembly by-election, necessitated after BJP chief Nitin Nabin resigned as MLA and moved to the Rajya Sabha, is turning out to be a big contest in the heart of Patna. Bankipur, the seat won by Nabin five times and represented by his father, Navin Kishore Prasad Sinha, for three terms, is considered one of the BJP's safest urban constituencies in Bihar.

The bypoll has emerged as a big prestige battle electoral contest for the BJP, as Kishor decided to make his electoral debut for the seat.

Hours after the BJP-led NDA released the 58-second video, Kishor challenged the BJP to prove the authenticity of the video, calling it an AI deepfake.

"It doesn't matter, people of Bankipur have made up their minds, but I want to say that a video of Nitish Kumar came, a video appeal was released by the NDA. The video is fake, it was made with AI. He has made no such statement. This is the state of the BJP, fearing loss, they released this video," Kishor said.

"I challenge the BJP, get it confirmed by Nitish ji. If they prove them to be correct, I will take back my candidature two days before the by-election. The BJP has already lost, the question is by what margin," he added.

The BJP had released the video as part of its final campaign blitz, with former CM Nitish Kumar appealing to voters to support the NDA candidate.

JD(U) PRESIDENT HITS BACK AT PRASHANT KISHOR

Janata Dal (United) state president Umesh Kushwaha, reacting to Prashant Kishor's allegations, said that the Jan Suraaj founder was insulting Nitish Kumar and people of Bihar wouldn't spare him.

"I have said in my address before as well that people now know the difference between AI videos and real videos. It's the digital age now, everyone understands this. By doing this, they are insulting our leader, and the insults they hurl have been done before too," Kushwaha told news agency ANI.

"If they are continuing to humiliate us, the public will not spare them. They are desperate and making such statements out of desperation. They know that their deposit is being forfeited," he added.

THE HIGH-VOLTAGE FINISH TO BANKIPUR CAMPAIGN

The allegations by Prashant Kishor came as political parties made a last-minute push to woo voters ahead of the July 30 by-election to the prestigious Bankipur Assembly constituency in Bihar's Patna.

The seat fell vacant after BJP national president Nitin Nabin resigned as MLA and moved to the Rajya Sabha in April. Considered one of the BJP's safest urban constituencies in Bihar, the bypoll has emerged as one of the state's most closely watched electoral contests because Kishor decided to make his electoral debut from the seat.

Kishor's Jan Suraaj had failed to win even a single seat in the 243-member house in the Bihar Assembly elections held in 2025.

The BJP first fielded Abhishek Kumar Sinha (Bunty). He filed his nomination, then withdrew a day later, citing "family reasons".

The party then fielded 32-year-old BJP Yuva Morcha leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha for the July 30 contest.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has once again nominated Rekha Kumari Gupta, who had finished runner-up in the 2025 Assembly election. RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav joined the campaign only on July 27 (Monday), indicating the party's late attempt to consolidate anti-BJP votes.

Although 25 candidates are in the fray, the contest has increasingly narrowed into a direct battle between the BJP and Kishor's Jan Suraaj.

THE SOCIAL ARITHMETIC OF BANKIPUR SEAT

The Bankipur Assembly constituency, earlier part of the older Patna West seat, has nearly four lakh voters and presents a complex social arithmetic.

The Kayasth and Yadav communities together account for roughly 25% of the electorate in the urban seat. The BJP has historically enjoyed strong support among Kayasths, with the constituency represented first by MLA Nabin Kishore Prasad Sinha and later by his son, Nitin Nabin.

Muslims and Chandravanshis together constitute another significant voting bloc, making up nearly 20% of the electorate. Other influential communities include Vaishyas, Dalits, Bhumihars, Rajputs, Brahmins, Kurmis and Kushwahas, each accounting for between 3% and 8% of the voters.

Will these social groups and the political arithmetic have an impact on Prashant Kishor's voter outreach is vital because the latter focusses more on development-oriented politics.

Polling for the Bankipur Assembly by-election will be held on July 30, while votes will be counted on August 3. With Kishor questioning the authenticity of Nitish Kumar's video made as part of the NDA's campaign material and the BJP pulling out all stops to retain one of its strongest seats, the contest has acquired significance far beyond a routine by-election.