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Prashant Kishore
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Saturday said he would "not seek votes in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections" if he fails to "compel" Bihar's NDA government to implement the recommendations of the seventh pay commission for teachers in the state. The former poll strategist, whose party is contesting all eight seats of the state legislative council where polls are due later this month, also urged voters to "decide whom you trust more -- Prashant Kishor or Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary", whom he called "an uneducated criminal". Kishor was addressing a gathering in Saran district, where Independent MLC Afaq Ahmed, now in the fray as a Jan Suraaj Party candidate, filed his nomination papers from the Teachers constituency. Kishor, the Bankipur MLA, said, "The voters here had blessed Afaq Ahmed in 2022, when he had my support, but we did not have a party organisation in place. Now, we have the entire paraphernalia." "I admit that so far, I could not focus much on issues concernin
Former poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bihar Assembly Elections, 2025 and seeking fresh polls in the state. The matter is likely to come up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi. The BJP-led NDA retained power in the state, winning 202 of the total 243 seats, while the INDIA bloc bagged only 35, including six of the Congress. The Jan Suraaj Party failed to open its account in the assembly polls, with most of its candidates losing their deposits. In its plea, the party has accused the Bihar government of violating the Model Code by transferring Rs 10,000 each to women under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana after the announcement of poll schedule. The petition has sought directions to the poll panel to take action under Article 324 of Constitution (superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all election
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Saturday claimed that migrant workers and the youth are the real "X factor" of the ongoing assembly elections in Bihar, and not the women. Speaking to reporters in Supaul, the former poll strategist claimed the youth and migrant workers are determined to vote for change. "Migrant workers are coming back home in large numbers to vote along with their families. Migrant workers used to vote for the NDA in the past because they had no alternative," he said, claiming that this time, they were voting for his party. "The PM earlier used to get votes of migrant workers and people in general by spreading fear of RJD's 'jungle raj'. However, he is unable to get a sense of the current ground situation. People who apprehended the resurgence of 'jungle raj' in Bihar can see an alternative this election in Jan Suraaj," he added. Kishor claimed the 'vote chori' allegation of the Congress is a non-issue in the Bihar polls. "Ask any person on the street,
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party is all set to release its second list of candidates for the Bihar assembly elections on Monday, four days after the party declared its first list. All eyes are on Raghopur seat, in Vaishali district, where sitting MLA Tejashwi Yadav aims for a hat-trick. Kishor, a former poll strategist, has been dropping hints that he might contest the seat himself. The second list is expected to end the suspense over whether Kishor would make his poll debut from Tejashwi's home turf Raghopur. Party leaders are tight-lipped about whether the candidature for Raghopur will be declared in the second list or not. Sources said the party may come out with another list of candidates in a day or two. Jan Suraaj Party on October 9 released its first list of 51 candidates, but did not confirm whether its founder Prashant Kishor would contest the polls. Prominent names in the first list included former IPS officer of Bihar cadre, R K Mishra from Darbhanga, prominent lawyer
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor waded into the political controversy surrounding the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar on Wednesday when he described the mammoth exercise as a "BJP conspiracy". Kishor made the remark in Kishanganj, the state's lone district with a Muslim majority population, and promised that his fledgling party would help those whose names get wrongfully deleted from the voters' list. Talking to reporters, he said, "The SIR is a BJP conspiracy. The Supreme Court has made it clear that Election Commission cannot determine people's citizenship. Does the Election Commission, by carrying out such an exercise now, intend to say that the electoral roll of 2014, when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, was fake?". He added, "The same electoral roll was fine till last year's Lok Sabha polls. We fail to see a problem in conducting the upcoming assembly polls on the basis of the same voters' list." "Obviously, the BJP is jittery in .
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor was on Saturday discharged from a hospital in Patna following improvement in his health condition, the party said in a statement. However, the 47-year-old former political strategist is continuing with the 'fast-unto-death' that he launched on January 2 in protest against alleged irregularities in a BPSC exam held last month. "Prashant Kishor's 'anshan' (fast) in support of BPSC aspirants continues. He has been discharged from the hospital in the evening as his health has improved. Further details about his 'satyagraha' will be made known tomorrow," the statement said. Notably, Kishor was admitted to the private hospital on Tuesday, a day after his arrest by the police for staging a dharna at a site in the city where such agitations are prohibited, and grant of bail by a court hours later. He was kept in the ICU for a day, before being shifted to the general ward, even as his party colleagues urged the aspirants and Bihar Chief Minister Niti
Amid Prashant Kishor's fast unto death over alleged irregularities in the Bihar PSC exams, his Jan Suraaj Party has moved the Patna High Court, seeking cancellation of the competitive tests, his counsel said on Friday. Advocate Pranav Kumar said the petition, highlighting "irregularities in the Combined Competitive Exams held on December 13", has been posted for hearing on January 15. "The case was mentioned today before the single-judge bench of Justice Arvind Singh Chandel. The matter has been posted for hearing on January 15," he told PTI-Bhasha. "We have highlighted large-scale irregularities in the exams held across the state, citing instances of people carrying mobile phones inside examination halls where there were no jammers. At many places, several examinees solved their question papers huddled together," he alleged. Kumar claimed that "such irregularities" were reported from many examination centres and not just Bapu Pariksha Parisar where many candidates had boycotted th
The health condition of Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, who was admitted to the ICU of a hospital in Patna after leading a fast unto death, was stable on Tuesday night and intravenous fluid was being administered to him, doctors treating him said. Leaders of his party, Pavan K Varma and YV Giri, visited him in the evening and said that they had urged him to end his fast as his well-being was necessary. "We have asked Prashant Kishor to consider taking normal food and protect his health. His fight is commendable, but Bihar faces many problems and his well-being is necessary for a prolonged struggle," said Varma. "The CM's unwillingness to meet a five-member delegation of BPSC aspirants shows his insensitivity. He is the guardian of the state, but not willing to meet protesting aspirants," he added. Jay Prabha Medanta Hospital's Medical Director Ravi Shankar Singh said if Kishor's condition improved, he might be brought out of the ICU on Wednesday, but his discharge from th
Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor was on Monday arrested for his illegal fast unto death and sent to jail upon refusal to accept bail, granted by a court here with conditions that were deemed "unreasonable". The 47-year-old, who was last week booked for holding 'Aamaran anshan' (fast unto death) at Gandhi Maidan, in violation of a Patna High Court order that forbids any such demonstration at a place other than Gardani Bagh locality in the city, declared that he would continue his agitation from behind bars. Senior lawyer Y V Giri, who is actively associated with Kishor's party, said the bail was granted with an unreasonable condition that Kishor must give a written undertaking, which would have been tantamount to admitting guilt. The former poll strategist, who started his fast unto death on January 2, demanding, among other things, cancellation of the Combined Competitive Examination conducted last month by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), was rounded up along wit