Prashant Kishor files election affidavit declaring Rs 96 crore in personal assets, wife's worth Rs 101 crore

Political strategist and Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor has declared personal assets worth Rs 96 crore in his election affidavit filed for the Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar, with his wife's assets disclosed at Rs 101 crore — placing the combined household wealth of the one-time backroom operator at nearly Rs 200 crore, as reported by The Indian Express.

The affidavit, a mandatory legal document that candidates must submit before contesting elections, offers the first granular public look at Kishor's financial standing. Kishor, who earned considerable wealth advising political parties across India — from the Congress to the BJP to regional outfits — before launching his own political movement in Bihar, has positioned himself as a champion of the poor and marginalised in the state.

The wealth declaration is likely to attract scrutiny from rivals who will question whether a man of such means can authentically represent one of India's poorest constituencies. Kishor's opponents, including parties whose campaigns he once masterminded, are expected to use the figures as a political weapon in the by-election campaign.

For Kishor, the Bankipur contest is a critical test of whether his Jan Suraaj movement can translate street-level mobilisation and media savvy into actual electoral success. The by-election result will be closely watched as a barometer of his political viability ahead of the Bihar assembly elections.