Prashant Kishor, the founder of Jan Suraaj, expressed his concern over the NDA’s victory in the recent Bihar assembly bypolls, despite the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition’s long-standing failure to address the state’s deep-rooted backwardness. Kishor’s party, which made its electoral debut, failed to make a significant impact, with all four of its candidates losing, three of whom forfeited their security deposits.
Addressing the media in Patna after the results were declared, Kishor acknowledged that Jan Suraaj secured 10% of the total votes across the four constituencies, but dismissed claims that the party played a role in the defeat of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in three of these seats.”
The RJD is a 30-year-old party. The son of its state president finished third. Can Jan Suraaj be blamed for that?” Kishor questioned. He pointed out that in Belaganj, the Muslim votes were largely shifted to the Janata Dal United (JDU) candidate, while in Imamganj, Jan Suraaj had only cut into the NDA’s votes. Kishor argued that had it not been for this, Jitan Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha would have had a wider victory margin.
Imamganj, a reserved seat, saw Jitan Manjhi’s daughter-in-law Deepa win by a narrow margin of under 6,000 votes. Jan Suraaj candidate Jitendra Paswan secured more than 37,000 votes, finishing third.
Responding to the fact that Jan Suraaj candidates lost their deposits in three of the four seats, Kishor downplayed the significance, stating, “That should not be a matter of concern. If there is something concerning, it’s the ability of the NDA to sweep the polls despite having ruled Bihar for so long and failing to address the state’s chronic backwardness.”
Kishor, who briefly worked with JD(U), reiterated that the real issue was the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership. He described Nitish Kumar as a “spent force” and clarified that Manorama Devi, the former MLC and JD(U) candidate, won on her own merit, not due to the party’s support.”
We’ve always said our fight is with the NDA, not the RJD, despite its claim of being the largest party in Bihar,” Kishor remarked. “But Nitish Kumar is no longer a factor. His party secured just 11% of the total votes.”
Looking ahead, Kishor emphasized that Jan Suraaj would contest all 243 seats in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections next year, asserting that the party would go solo in its bid for a larger political influence in the state.
