State Assembly byelections: Prashant Kishor leads in Bihar, Congress ahead in MP, BJP maintains edge in Gujarat

New Delhi: Results of the Assembly bypolls in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat pointed to a mixed political picture on Monday, with Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor leading in Bankipur, the Congress ahead in Datia and the BJP on course to retain Manjalpur.

In Bihar's Bankipur, Prashant Kishor was leading BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha by 10,436 votes after 18 of the 31 counting rounds. Kishor had secured 35,713 votes, while Sinha polled 25,277. RJD's Rekha Gupta was in third place with 9,316 votes. The bypoll was necessitated after BJP national president Nitin Nabin vacated the seat following his election to the Rajya Sabha.

In Madhya Pradesh's Datia, Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh led BJP's Ashutosh Tiwari by 6,583 votes after eight of the 15 counting rounds. Singh had secured 38,264 votes, while Tiwari received 31,681. The bypoll was held following the disqualification of Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti after his conviction in a cheating case.

In Gujarat's Manjalpur, BJP candidate Satish Govindbhai Patel was ahead of Congress nominee Bhikhabhai Rabari by 19,368 votes after 12 of the 19 counting rounds. Patel had polled 34,345 votes, while Rabari secured 14,977. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of senior BJP MLA and former minister Yogesh Patel in June.