PATNA, Oct 15 — Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Wednesday announced that he will not contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, a decision he described as being in the “larger interest” of the party. Kishor said this will allow him to focus on organisational work and strengthening the party’s presence across the state.
In an exclusive interview with PTI, the 48-year-old strategist said the party has nominated a different candidate from Raghopur, set to contest against Tejashwi Yadav. “If I were to contest, it would have distracted me from the necessary organisational work,” Kishor said.
Asked about his expectations for the election outcome, Kishor said, “I can say with certainty that we will either win handsomely or face a drubbing. I expect a tally of either fewer than 10 seats or more than 150 seats. There is no possibility of anything in between.” He clarified that anything below 150 seats, even 120 or 130, would be considered a defeat.
“If Jan Suraaj Party wins, it will have a nationwide impact. The compass of national politics will point in a different direction,” Kishor asserted. He added that a strong mandate would empower the party to “transform Bihar and make it count among the 10 most advanced states of the country.” Conversely, a poor performance would mean that the public has “not shown enough confidence in us,” and the party would continue its “politics of the street and society (samaj aur sadak ki rajneeti).”
The Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases, on November 6 and November 11, with vote counting scheduled for November 14.
Kishor dismissed the possibility of a fractured mandate and declined to speculate on supporting either the NDA or the INDIA bloc, emphasizing that the party’s focus remains on winning decisively.
