Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Wednesday announced that he will stay out of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, saying the decision was made by the party to serve its long-term interests.
In an exclusive conversation with PTI, the former political strategist revealed that a victory of fewer than 150 seats would count as a setback for his party. “If Jan Suraaj wins Bihar, it will reshape national politics. The political compass of the country will point in a new direction,” Kishor asserted confidently. The Bihar Assembly elections will take place in two phases, on November 6 and November 11, with counting scheduled for November 14.
Kishor clarified that the party has nominated another candidate from Raghopur, who will take on RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, since his own candidature could have diverted attention from crucial organisational work. “The party has decided that I should not contest. I’ll continue to focus on building the organisation and strengthening our structure across Bihar,” he explained.
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‘We’ll either win big or face a setback’
Asked about his confidence in the party’s performance, the 48-year-old leader said the results will be decisive, not middling. “We’ll either win convincingly or lose badly. I’ve said before — it will be fewer than 10 seats or more than 150. There’s no middle ground,” he maintained.
Prashat Kishor dismissed the possibility of a hung Assembly, asserting that Jan Suraaj will not rely on either the NDA or the INDIA bloc for post-poll alliances. Even so, he admitted that if the party fell short of 150 seats, it would be a personal defeat.
“If we cross 150, we’ll have the mandate to transform Bihar into one of India’s top ten developed states. If not, it means people want us to continue our movement on the streets and among the people,” he said.
Prashant Kishor predicts NDA’s exit, Nitish’s return ‘unlikely’
Switching back to his strategist mode, Prashant Kishor predicted a decisive defeat for the ruling NDA in Bihar. He cited the confusion over seat-sharing and candidate selection within the BJP-led coalition as signs of disarray.
“The NDA is clearly on its way out. Nitish Kumar will not return as Chief Minister,” Prashat Kishor asserted.
Kishor, who once worked closely with Nitish Kumar as a strategist and party colleague, recalled how the JD(U)’s fortunes collapsed in the last Assembly elections after Chirag Paswan’s rebellion. “Last time, Chirag fielded candidates against the JD(U) just before the polls, and the party’s tally crashed to 43. Today, things look even worse for them,” he observed.
According to him, both the NDA and the INDIA bloc are grappling with internal disputes. “The NDA camp is in chaos. The BJP and JD(U) are still unclear about their seats. The opposition alliance isn’t doing any better. The RJD and Congress are constantly sparring, and nobody knows where Mukesh Sahani’s party stands,” Kishor noted.
