Political pundit Prashant Kishor to float own party in Bihar: What we know

Prashant Kishor's coming involvement in the Bihar assembly elections represents a full circle, as he was the strategist of Nitish Kumar's 2015 victory against the BJP in the state

Political analyst and former election strategist Prashant Kishor on Sunday announced that he would extend his Jan Suraaj political campaign into a political party on the occasion of the Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 and contest the coming Bihar Assembly elections.

During an event in Patna, Kishor, previously associated with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), made the announcement. At the event, Jagriti Thakur, the granddaughter of former Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, also joined Kishor’s campaign.

“Jan Suraaj will become a political party on October 2 and contest next year's assembly polls…,” Kishor said. He clarified that he would not lead the party but rather hand over its helm to a Dalit leader. Kishor will hold a second meeting related to the party’s launch on August 4, aimed at the participation of the youth officials of the Jan Suraaj campaign.

Prashant Kishor’s political journey

Kishor himself earlier served as the vice-president of JD(U) but had a falling out with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Kishor came to the spotlight in 2014, credited with crafting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brand image, which sparked a ‘Modi wave’ and led to an unprecedented victory for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.

A former public health activist with the United Nations, Kishor also founded the Indian Political Action Committee or I-PAC in 2013.

His coming involvement in the Bihar assembly elections represents a full circle, as the NDA strategist was also behind Nitish Kumar’s 2015 victory against the BJP in the state. 

Jan Suraaj campaign launch

Kishor was expelled from JD(U) in January 2020 over indiscipline after he publicly criticised the party’s move to support the CAA. Soon after, to highlight Kumar’s “misgovernance” in Bihar, he launched the ‘Baat Bihar Ki’ campaign.

To create a “new Bihar”, Kumar launched the Jan Suraaj campaign in the form of a padyatra (foot journey) on October 2, 2022 to garner support for his cause. 

According to the official website of Jan Suraaj campaign, a total of 567,382 people have signed up to become members of the party so far.