- Prashant Kishor confirms he won’t contest upcoming Bihar Assembly polls
- Jan Suraaj names candidates for Kargahar and Raghopur seats
- Kishor predicts NDA’s defeat, says Nitish Kumar may not return as CM
- Calls anything below 150 seats for Jan Suraaj a “defeat”
By Dr. Kumar Rakesh
Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has confirmed that he will not contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, ending weeks of speculation over his political debut. Kishor, who leads the Jan Suraaj Party, told news agency PTI that he would instead focus on strengthening the party’s organisational base.
The announcement came shortly after Jan Suraaj released its first list of candidates, naming Chanchal Singh for the Raghopur Assembly seat and Ritesh Ranjan (Pandey) for Kargahar, the two constituencies Kishor was earlier speculated to contest from. Raghopur is a stronghold of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, while Kargahar is Kishor’s home constituency.
Explaining the decision, Kishor said, “Jan Suraaj decided I should concentrate on organisational work and not contest.” He added that the party has set a target of winning at least 150 seats, calling anything less a “defeat.”
Predicting a major political shift, Kishor said the ruling NDA in Bihar was heading for “certain defeat,” claiming that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) might not win more than 25 seats. He also pointed to internal discord within the INDIA bloc, citing rifts between RJD and Congress and uncertainty over the Vikassheel Insaan Party’s position.
Polling for the 243-member Bihar Assembly will take place on November 6 and 11, with results to be declared on November 14.
