The Jan Suraaj Party founder arrived at the Patna Sadar sub-divisional office after his supporters gathered earlier in the morning at the Scout and Guide Ground in Chhajjubagh, with the party organizing the filing as a show of public support. It marks Kishor's first-ever run for elected office, after years spent shaping other parties' campaigns as a strategist. He has described the contest as effectively a referendum on the performance of the BJP-led state government since the November 2025 assembly elections.

The Bankipur seat fell vacant after sitting BJP MLA and party national president Nitin Nabin resigned following his election to the Rajya Sabha in April. The constituency has been a BJP stronghold going back to the 1990s, making the party's handling of its own candidacy this time somewhat unusual: the BJP's original nominee withdrew from the race citing family reasons shortly after being selected, prompting the party to name Neeraj Kumar Sinha as its replacement candidate. Kishor seized on the switch, arguing it showed the BJP "struggling to find a candidate" in a seat it had long treated as safe, and accused the party of failing to deliver on the change it had promised voters in the last election cycle.

The RJD, meanwhile, has re-nominated Rekha Gupta, who contested and lost the seat to Nabin in the 2025 assembly election by a wide margin, securing under 30 percent of the vote at the time. Announcing her renewed candidacy, Gupta expressed confidence the RJD would perform better this time, citing what she described as public dissatisfaction with the state government, and argued Bankipur's voters should give the seat to a woman candidate after decades of BJP representation. She was also dismissive of Kishor's candidacy specifically, arguing that being a successful strategist for other campaigns doesn't necessarily translate into being a successful candidate oneself.

Congress and RJD, allies within the INDIA bloc, remain divided over how to treat Kishor's entry into the race. A Congress leader had suggested the opposition alliance should consider backing Kishor to maximise pressure on the BJP, a suggestion the RJD publicly dismissed as an individual opinion rather than any official party position, reaffirming that the RJD would contest the seat on its own as it did in 2025.

Beyond the three main contenders, the field also includes Veena Manvi, fielded by Tej Pratap Yadav's Janshakti Janata Dal, whose own nomination filing was disrupted by her arrest over the weekend.

With nominations now closed, scrutiny of papers is scheduled for July 14, followed by the last date for withdrawal on July 16. Counting will take place on August 3, following polling on July 30.