Prashant Kishor says it was a ‘mistake’ not to contest Bihar polls himself

Jan Suraaj party founder Prashant Kishor on Wednesday said that his decision not to contest the Bihar Assembly elections could be considered a “mistake”, The Indian Express reported.

The former political strategist said that he had not expected his party to secure less than 4% of the vote. The Jan Suraaj failed to win any seat despite fielding candidates in 238 of the state's 243 constituencies.

The party also lost its deposits in 236 seats, where its nominees failed to win even one-sixth of the total votes polled.

Kishor had launched the party in October 2024, saying that it would seek to end political helplessness in Bihar by creating an alternative for the voters.

While there had been speculation that he might contest the elections himself, he announced on October 15 that he would not enter the fray.

On Tuesday, Kishor claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) would won only about 25 seats had the government not transferred Rs 10,000 each to more than 60,000 beneficiaries in every constituency ahead of the polls, and promised Rs 2 lakh to 1.5 crore women under a self-employment scheme.

The JD(U) won 85 seats, almost doubling its tally of 43 seats from the 2020 polls.

Kishor also said that he would “definitely quit” politics if the National Democratic Alliance government fulfilled the promise of paying Rs 2 lakh each to 1.5 crore women.

“People who don't get the money in six months can come to Jan Suraaj,” he had said on Tuesday. “We will fight to ensure they get the amount.”

His remarks came ahead of Kumar being sworn in as the chief minister on Thursday for the 10th time after the NDA swept the Assembly polls.

The NDA bagged 202 of the 243 seats. A party or an alliance needs 122 seats in the 243-member Assembly to form the government. The Opposition Mahagathbandhan won 35 seats.

Source: Scroll
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