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
A three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, stated that the Supreme Court could not be the first forum for every issue and emphasised the importance of approaching the high court
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
Thousands of BPSC aspirants protested at Patna's Gandhi Maidan, demanding a re-examination of the 70th prelims; police used lathi-charge, water cannons as protesters broke barricades
Earlier, on Saturday, Delhi Police detained members of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) protesting outside Bihar Bhawan against the lathi charge on BPSC aspirants in Patna
The primary focus of the campaign will be to counter the 'anti-incumbency' narrative created by Opposition parties in the state against AAP
Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor has said Bihar is "literally a failed state" which is in "deep shit" and tremendous efforts are required for its all-round development. In a virtual interaction with the Bihari diaspora community after the launch of the US chapter of the Jan Suraaj, the former poll strategist exuded confidence that his party would win the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls and said that he would lift the ban on alcohol and use the revenue to improve school education. "We have to realise that this (Bihar) is a state which is in deep shit. If Bihar were a country, it would be the 11th largest country in terms of population in the world. We have just overtaken Japan in terms of population," Kishor told the gathering. He said the biggest challenge is that society has become "hopeless" about improving the situation of Bihar. "When you become hopeless, the immediate survival needs become so overpowering that nothing (else) matters," he said. However, Kishor said, not all is ...
The ruling NDA in Bihar on Saturday swept the bypolls to four assembly segments, retaining Imamganj and wresting from the INDIA bloc Tarari, Ramgarh and Belaganj, receiving a boost ahead of the assembly elections due next year. Candidates of the Jan Suraaj, floated recently by former political strategist Prashant Kishor with much fanfare, lost deposits in all but one seat, in a clear indication that the fledgling party, despite claims of taking the political landscape in the state by storm, needs to cover much ground. The biggest setback for the INDIA bloc, helmed by the RJD, came in Belaganj, a seat the party had been winning since its inception in the 1990s, but this time lost to the JD(U) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the arch-rival of its founding president Lalu Prasad. The JD(U) candidate Manorama Devi, a former MLC, defeated by a margin of more than 21,000 votes RJD's Vishwanath Kumar Singh who made his debut from a seat that fell vacant upon election to Lok Sabha of
Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday announced the launch of his political outfit Jan Suraaj Party, a much-anticipated move by which he hopes to take the political landscape in Bihar by storm. The party was launched at Veterinary College Ground in the state capital in presence of many renowned figures, including former Union minister Devendra Prasad Yadav, diplomat-turned-politician Pavan Varma and ex-MP Monazir Hassan. The party was floated exactly two years after Kishor had embarked on a more than 3,000-km-long 'padayatra' of the state, from Champaran where Mahatma Gandhi had launched the first Satyagraha in the country, in a bid to mobilise the people for a "new political alternative" that could cure Bihar of its chronic backwardness.
As political strategist Prashant Kishor looks to shape his 'Jan Suraj' campaign into a political party, he is keen to shake off any perception linking the new organisation with any particular voting bloc by incorporating proportional number of representatives from various social groups in line with their population share. The new party, which will be formed on October 2 in Bihar, will have a 25-member central committee, with proportional representation from the general category, other backward classes (OBCs), extremely backward classes (EBCs), scheduled castes and minorities, 'Jan Suraj' representatives have said. They had earlier said that equal representation would be made from these communities before revising their statement to say that these social blocks will have their share in line with their population in the overall census. The Bihar government had recently carried out a caste survey to find out the number of different communities. The 25 members will elect a leader of th
The most significant aspect of his annoucement is that the he would launch his political outfit ahead of Bihar assembly polls
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Validating the BJP's claims, eminent political strategist Prashant Kishor said the ruling party will add significantly to its seats and vote share in south and east India, the two regions where its hold is weak-to-non-existent, barring Karnataka. In an interaction with PTI editors, Kishor also said despite the BJP's apparent dominance, neither the party nor Prime Minister Narendra Modi is invincible, pointing out that the opposition had three distinct and realistic chances of stopping the BJP juggernaut but frittered away the opportunities because of laziness and misplaced strategies. "They (BJP) will either be first or second party in Telangana which is a big thing. They will be number one in Odisha for sure. You would be surprised as, in all likelihood, to my mind, the BJP is going to be the number one party in West Bengal," he said. In Tamil he said, BJP's vote share may hit double-digit percentage. Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Kerala ...
During 'Jan Samwad' with common people in Yogapatti block of West Champaran on Friday, Kishor said that the 32 km road connecting Nawalpur to district headquarter Bettiah was not constructed for 15 yr
Continuing his tirade against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor on Wednesday said that he would not work for the JD(U) supremo even if the latter "vacates the CM's chair" for him. Kishor had on Tuesday claimed that he spurned a recent request by Kumar to "lead" the Janata Dal (United). Addressing a gathering at Jamunia village in West Champaran district during the day, as part on his ongoing 3,500-km-long 'Jan Suraaj' padyatra, Kishor said, "When I met Nitish Kumar a few days ago, he asked me to re-join JD(U) and work with him. 'You are my political heir', the CM told me asking to withdraw my campaign." "I categorically told the CM that I will not work with him even if he (Nitish Kumar) makes me his political heir or.vacates the chair of CM for me. I said no....I have made a promise to the peopleit can't be changed," the 45-year-old former national vice-president of JD(U) added. Kishor was inducted into the JD(U) in 2018 by Kumar.
Former political strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday said that Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' should have started from Gujarat or any other BJP-ruled state. He was speaking on the sidelines of a program where he met local leaders and activists supporting the cause of the separate Vidarbha state. "It would have been better had the Congress started its Bharat Jodo Yatra from Gujarat where elections are due later this year, or other BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh," Kishor told PTI when asked about the ongoing campaign. The Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi, began from Tamil Nadu. Notably, there was a buzz earlier this year about Kishor joining the Congress, but he later said that he declined the offer to head its election strategy. Interacting with pro-Vidarbha supporters, he called for a united effort by people of the region to realize the dream of a separate state. Former BJP MLA Ashish Deshmukh had organized the programme to formulate a strategy to achieve ...
Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor hit back at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday, a day after the JD(U) supremo accused him of trying to help BJP and not knowing "ABC" of politics and governance. Kishor, who has launched "Jan Suraaj", a campaign that is likely to evolve into a political party, said it was "laughable" for Kumar to issue "certificates" given that he was with the BJP till a month ago. "Age is catching up with him. If he has divined that I want to help the BJP, it is his intellectual greatness (vidvata)," Kishor told reporters here sarcastically. "Nitish Kumar must be the only educated person around to have said people like me do not know ABC. He knows from A to Z. He should share the knowledge with NITI Aayog which keeps counting Bihar among the least-developed states," the IPAC founder said, tongue in cheek. Kishor also said that if Kumar was able to deliver on his promise of creating 10 lakh jobs, which he made after ruling the state fo
"Nitish ji had recently told officials of road construction department that they must tell the people about the condition of roads in the state", Kishor tweeted