Patna: Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Tuesday (July 28) accused the BJP-led NDA of using an AI-generated deepfake video of former Bihar chief minister and Rajya Sabha MP Nitish Kumar to influence voters ahead of the high-stakes Bankipur Assembly by-election scheduled for July 30. Making his electoral debut from the urban constituency, Kishor challenged the BJP to prove the authenticity of the 58-second video featuring Nitish Kumar appealing to voters to back the NDA candidate.
He went a step further, declaring that he would withdraw from the contest if the BJP established that the former chief minister had actually recorded the appeal.
“It doesn’t matter because the people of Bankipur have already made up their minds. But I want to say that the video of Nitish Kumar released by the NDA is fake. It has been created using AI. He has made no such statement. This shows the BJP is afraid of losing, which is why it has resorted to such tactics,” Kishor alleged.
“I challenge the BJP to get Nitish ji to confirm the video. If they prove it is genuine, I will withdraw my candidature before the by-election. The BJP has already lost; the only question now is by what margin,” he added.
The BJP had released the video as part of its final campaign blitz, with Nitish Kumar urging voters to support the NDA nominee.
JD(U) hits back
Janata Dal (United) state president Umesh Kushwaha dismissed Kishor’s allegations, accusing him of insulting Nitish Kumar and misleading voters.
“People today understand the difference between AI-generated videos and genuine ones. This is the digital age. By making such allegations, Prashant Kishor is insulting our leader. The people of Bihar will not spare him,” Kushwaha told ANI.
He further claimed that Kishor’s remarks reflected desperation. “He knows his security deposit will be forfeited, which is why he is making such statements,” Kushwaha said.
The Bankipur by-election was necessitated after senior BJP leader Nitin Nabin resigned as MLA following his election to the Rajya Sabha in April.
A BJP bastion in the heart of Patna, Bankipur has been represented by Nitin Nabin for five consecutive terms and earlier by his father, Navin Kishore Prasad Sinha, for three terms. The constituency is widely regarded as one of the BJP’s safest urban seats in Bihar.
However, Kishor’s decision to contest from Bankipur has transformed the bypoll into one of Bihar’s most closely watched political battles.
The BJP initially fielded Abhishek Kumar Sinha (Bunty), who withdrew his nomination a day later, citing family reasons. The party subsequently nominated 32-year-old BJP Yuva Morcha leader Neeraj Kumar Sinha.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has once again fielded Rekha Kumari Gupta, who finished runner-up in the 2025 Assembly election. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav joined the campaign only in its final phase in an attempt to consolidate anti-BJP votes.
Although 25 candidates are in the fray, the contest has increasingly narrowed into a direct fight between the BJP and Kishor’s Jan Suraaj.
With nearly four lakh voters, Bankipur presents a complex electoral equation. Kayasths and Yadavs together account for around a quarter of the electorate, while Muslims and Chandravanshis make up nearly 20%.
Other influential communities include Vaishyas, Dalits, Bhumihars, Rajputs, Brahmins, Kurmis and Kushwahas, each contributing between 3% and 8% of the electorate.
While the BJP has traditionally enjoyed strong support among Kayasths, Kishor has sought to position himself as a development-focused alternative capable of cutting across caste lines.
Polling for the Bankipur Assembly by-election will be held on July 30, with counting scheduled for August 3. The controversy surrounding Nitish Kumar’s campaign video has added another layer of political intrigue to an already high-profile contest, making the outcome one of the most closely watched electoral battles in Bihar this year.