Prashant Kishor alleges BJP forced three Jan Suraaj candidates to withdraw

Prashant Kishor said the three candidates who pulled out were contesting from Danapur, Brahampur, and Gopalganj constituencies

Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of pressuring three Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) candidates to withdraw their nominations for the Bihar Assembly elections.

 

Speaking at a press conference, Kishor alleged that the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was “so scared of losing” that it was using threats to force opposition candidates out of the contest. “Democracy is being murdered. There has been no such precedent in the country,” he said, urging the Election Commission to ensure the safety of candidates.

 

Kishor said the three candidates who pulled out were contesting from Danapur, Brahampur, and Gopalganj constituencies. “The BJP is trying to replicate the Surat model, where its candidate was elected unopposed after others were coerced to withdraw,” he claimed. 

 

 

He added that the BJP had already faced public backlash for such tactics. “The BJP does not realise that voters punished it across the country for this, and it won just 240 seats though it had claimed it would cross 400 in last year’s Lok Sabha polls,” Kishor said.

 

The Jan Suraaj Party had announced candidates for all 243 Assembly seats in Bihar. Following the withdrawal of three candidates and the close of nominations, it will now contest 240 seats. Prashant Kishor is not contesting the Assembly elections, saying he wants to focus on the party’s larger goals.

 

The Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases, on November 6 and 11, with the results to be announced on November 14.