New Delhi: Ending days of suspense, Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor has decided not to contest the Bihar assembly elections, ending speculations over his candidacy. PK told the media in Patna that members of his party decided he should focus on working for the victory of other party candidates.
The Jan Suraaj Party Tuesday nominated Chanchal Singh as the candidate from the Raghopur assembly, the Rashtriya Janata Dal stronghold, from where Prashant Kishor earlier appeared likely to contest the Bihar elections. On 11 October, PK even held a roadshow in Raghopur, now represented by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
The vice president of the JSP youth wing, Chanchal Singh, is in the hotel and real estate business and previously served as the state general secretary of the JD(U)’s business cell.
On the rationale behind the decision, Uday Singh, the national president of Jan Suraaj Party, explained that the national executive discussed the issue and took a decision only after analysing the pros and cons.
“Prashant Kishor indicated that he should contest the election. However, I was against this, and there are several reasons for it,” Uday Singh told ThePrint.
Unlike in traditional parties, Uday Singh said, Prashant Kishor is the only star campaigner in the Jan Suraaj Party, so every candidate would want him to campaign for them.
Poll consultant-turned-politician PK, who has positioned his party as the “third alternative”, has asked people to rise above caste politics and choose a “clean” government.
The assembly elections in Bihar will be held in two phases—on 6 November, followed by a four-day gap before the next phase on 11 November.
This time around, the contest is likely to be triangular, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the INDIA bloc, and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party all looking to form the government.
Also Read: Pre-poll drama singes JD(U). 4-time MLA stages dharna outside Nitish’s house, MP seeks nod to quit
A major test for PK in November
For the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), this will be the first major electoral test. Prashant Kishor has been aggressively campaigning for his party, accusing several leaders in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United) alliance of corruption.
Uday Singh said that Bihar “can’t be compared to Delhi,” where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal had decided to take former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit head-on.
“The geography and expanse of Bihar are very different. The euphoric reaction that his presence gets us is something that everyone would want to take advantage of,” he added.
The campaign window of the JSP ahead of the Bihar elections is significantly narrow since festivals such as Diwali and Chhath are in October, the JSP national president noted.
Another party leader told ThePrint that JSP is of the firm view that if Kishor decided to contest, he would have to spend relatively more time in his constituency.
“We can’t be unfair to the people of the constituency, so if the party had decided that he should contest the elections, we would want him to spend time in that constituency. Otherwise, it would be unfair to the people,” the JSP leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, explained.
Jan Suraaj ‘either on arsh or farsh’
Speaking to ThePrint, Rahul Verma, a fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), said that at this juncture, it seemed difficult to ascertain the impact the Jan Suraaj Party would eventually have on the Bihar assembly elections.
“The real question is, what kind of impact is the Jan Suraaj Party likely to have? Some have estimated that the party could secure between five percent and seven percent of the vote share,” he said. “But not enough to make any significant breakthrough. However, some say it could still play a decisive role in determining which alliance ends up gaining an advantage.”
Earlier, in an interview with ThePrint, Prashant Kishor said that his party would either be on the “arsh”, or “farsh”, that is, form the government on its own or not be in power at all in Bihar.
As the actual impact of JSP remains uncertain, Verma said that if PK decided to contest a prominent constituency, his candidacy might have been a key talking point during the campaign. However, it could have led rival parties to label JSP as the “B team” of the NDA. “Given these risks, it’s understandable that he might want to avoid creating such a perception,” he added.
Verma added that PK remains the most recognisable face of his party, so strategically, it makes more sense for him to campaign in other constituencies, where the party still has time to build a presence, rather than concentrating solely on his seat.
“If he contested himself, he would have been compelled to focus his efforts locally. So, all this considered, his decision seems like a sensible one,” Verma said.
Political analyst Badri Narayan, however, pointed out that Kishor should have contested the election to send a message—not only to the cadre but also to the voters. “In a democracy, contesting elections is a major thing, and he could have sent out a big message by choosing to contest,” he added.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)