Jan Suraaj Party on Sunday declared Prashant Kishor its candidate for the July 30 Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar.

The party's decision was announced by its state president Manoj Bharti, following a core committee meeting.

Addressing a press conference here, Kishor announced his decision to contest the seat, which has fallen vacant upon the resignation of BJP president Nitin Nabin, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP.

"The people of Bankipur are the richest and the most educated in Bihar. Let them vote for the best. If they feel they can repose their trust in me, I urge them to vote for me... Even as the lone MLA of my party, I shall outweigh the remaining 242 ones in the assembly," Kishor said.

The 48-year-old reiterated that BJP leader Samrat Choudhary became chief minister "without the people's mandate" as the NDA had won the assembly polls last year, declaring JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, who stepped down a couple of months ago, as its face.

"The upcoming bypoll is going to be a referendum on the working of the two-month-old government of Samrat Choudhary. If the BJP wins, I will have no hesitation in conceding that they continue to enjoy public support. If we win, it shall be for them to read the writing on the wall," the former poll strategist added.

Kishor, who had been dropping hints over the past few weeks that he was willing to contest the bypoll, said that a formal announcement was taken at a meeting of Jan Suraaj Party's core committee, held soon after the schedule for the by-election was announced last week.

The Bankipur assembly by-election will be held on July 30, and votes polled will be counted on August 3. The last date for filing of nominations is July 13.

Janata Janshakti Dal (JJD) chief Tej Pratap Yadav had earlier nominated social activist Veena Manvi as its candidate for the bypoll in the seat.

The seat was vacated by BJP president Nitin Nabin after he got elected to the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP, of which the seat is a stronghold, is yet to formally announce a candidate but is reportedly mulling over leaders such as Ajay Alok, Neel Ratan Ghosh and Ajeet Kumar Lali.

Kishor's party could not secure a single seat in the 2025 assembly elections.