Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor on Tuesday reacted for the first time on his party’s failure to secure even a single seat in the Bihar Assembly elections, taking full responsibility for the debacle, and accepting that he “failed to understand Bihar. He also refuted claims that he will leave the state, and instead shared his plans of working hard to serve the people of Bihar.
“Contesting elections is subjective. People can debate whether it would have been beneficial had I contested the election or not. I am ready to accept that I couldn’t understand Bihar. I also accept that I don’t understand how to divide Bihar in the name of caste and religion like Lalu Yadav, Samrat Choudhary, and Ashok Choudhary. Trying to improve the state is not a crime, but people are reacting as if I’ve committed one,” Prashant Kishor said.
Kishor’s party had contested 238 seats in the high-stakes poll, but failed to win a single one, securing just 3.44 per cent of the vote share. It even received fewer votes than NOTA in some seats.
“There must have been some mistake in our efforts, in our thinking, in the way we explained that the public had not elected us. If the public did not show faith in us, then the responsibility for that is completely mine. I take that responsibility 100 per cent on myself, that I could not win the faith of the people of Bihar,” he said, accepting responsibility for the outcome.
Rejecting plans about leaving Bihar, he clarified: “Today we have certainly suffered a setback, but we will definitely win in the future. I will not leave Bihar. Those who think I will leave Bihar are delusional. I will now work twice as hard as I have in the last three years.”
Kishor claimed that the NDA’s sweeping victory in the Bihar Assembly elections was driven by an unprecedented government promise to spend ₹40,000 crore on welfare schemes, a scale he said had “never been seen before in independent India, especially in Bihar.”
However, he dismissed allegations that voters had “sold their votes” for Rs 10,000. “People are saying voters sold their votes for Rs 10,000. That is not true; people here will not sell their future or their children’s future. There is no end to this debate,” he said.
Kishor also referred to complaints raised by some opposition parties alleging “wrongdoing” by the Election Commission, saying, “That is their matter.”
“Some are alleging wrongdoing by the Election Commission – that is their matter. But in every Assembly seat, at least 60,000–62,000 people were given Rs 10,000 and promised a Rs 2 lakh loan. Government officials were on duty telling people they would get the loan if the NDA returned to power, and Jeevika didis were put on duty for this,” the Jan Suraaj chief added.
Prashant Kishor, who had said he would retire from politics if JD (U) wins 25 seats in the Bihar polls, reiterated his remark.
“People are talking a lot about my remark on JD(U) winning 25 seats – I still stand by it. If Nitish Kumar transfers the Rs 2 lakh he promised to 1.5 crore women and proves he didn’t win by buying votes, I will retire from politics without any Ifs and Buts,” he said.
