Looking at the way Jan Suraj Party was emerging in Bihar elections, it seemed that it would make a big upset this time. But the way party founder Prashant Kishore has suddenly started playing the victim card, the position of his party is becoming doubtful in Bihar elections. Even before this, Prashant Kishore was accused of behaving very rudely with many journalists. Prashant’s frustration was clearly visible in the conversation he had with some journalists.
In the Patna press conference on October 21, he claimed that the top leadership of BJP – Home Minister Amit Shah and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan ‘forcibly’ withdrew the nominations of three of his candidates. Akhilesh Kumar alias Mutur Shah from Danapur, Satya Prakash Tiwari from Brahmapur and Shashi Shekhar Sinha from Gopalganj succumbed to the pressure of BJP. Such incidents have been happening in small parties but the kind of allegations. Prashant Kishore imposed on the top leadership of BJP cannot be considered ordinary. Either this has happened, or Prashant Kishore has realized that his party’s boat is wavering in the Bihar Assembly elections.
Jan Suraj Party What drama are you doing?
PK shows some photos to prove his allegations against BJP leaders. In the photo, their candidates are seen with Shah and Pradhan. Kishore says that democracy is being murdered. Now the question arises whether this is true pain or election drama? And will this affect Jan Suraj’s Bihar election journey?
Actually, Prashant Kishore’s journey has been controversial in Bihar politics from the beginning. He became a hero as the architect of the victory of the Grand Alliance (JDU-RJD) in 2015. His strategy did wonders in bringing the Nitish-Lalu duo to power. But when Nitish joined hands with BJP, after a few days PK was also shown the way out. After that Jan Suraj Abhiyan was started in 2022. A padayatra, which reached every village of Bihar. In June 2024, this movement was made a political party.
Prashant Kishore took the lead in doing new alternative politics against corruption, unemployment and migration. This was the reason why he announced to field candidates on all 243 seats. Obviously this was a step to challenge both the NDA and the Grand Alliance. But the reality? Internal strife started as soon as the party was formed. There were allegations regarding ticket distribution that ‘cash-for-tickets’ was going on. As soon as the first list was released in October 2025, the founding members revolted. A former member said, tickets were available only to those who could pay lakhs of rupees. A worker protested and said that we supported the journey on foot, but an outsider got the ticket.
Imitation of Kejriwal style
On October 21, PK said, BJP is scared so they are repeating the Surat model, where after withdrawing the names of the opposition candidates, they left their candidate alone. Mutur Shah was not allowed to file nomination in Danapur. Shah was reportedly held hostage for the whole day. Dr. Tiwari campaigned in Brahmapur till Sunday, but withdrew his name on Monday. In Gopalganj, Sinha cited health reasons, but PK claims that the BJP MLA put pressure on him at 11 pm.
He said, BJP thinks that it will win, no matter who gets the votes. But in the Lok Sabha it was limited to 240 whereas there was a claim of 400. Now Jan Suraj has shaken their confidence in Bihar. Announced to complain to the Election Commission, but admitted that they were working on the instructions of the government.
This statement went viral. #Jan_Suraj_Peedit started trending on X, but in most of the memes PK is being called ‘Drama King’. One user wrote that PK must have learned to play the victim card from Kejriwal. On the other hand, BJP has clearly denied this. Spokesperson Ajay Alok said, PK is a colorful jackal, whose color is fading. Will not be seen in Bihar after 14th November. Rajiv Pratap Rudy taunted, he should have contested at least one election to understand Bihar. BJP counter-claimed that people are coming to them from Jan Suraj only.
Is this an attempt to grab PK’s attention?
Political analysts say that this card of PK is an attempt to attract attention. The last date for nomination has passed, three seats have reduced but fighting at 240 is no small task. So is this an attempt at damage control? Are Jan Suraj’s ground reports getting weak? In any survey, Jansuraj is getting a place only after NDA and RJD. Jansuraj Party is also seen winning only 5 to 10 seats.
PK claimed that he is a ‘game changer’, but the workers are running away, the party is falling apart due to the ticket dispute. If we look at the history of PK, the victim card is not new. After the breakup with Nitish in 2020, she talked about being ‘against the system’. He reached every corner of Bihar in the 2022 Padyatra, but Jan Suraj did not contest any seat in the Lok Sabha 2024. Now the first test in the assembly. He himself could have fought against Tejashwi Yadav from Raghopur, but he did not.
PK discouraged workers by not contesting elections himself
Prashant Kishor’s decision not to contest the Bihar Assembly elections himself indicates the weakness of his Jan Suraj Party. This decision may prove to be a strategic mistake for the party which claims to field candidates on 243 seats. PK started the Padyatra in 2022 and raised the slogan of new politics in every village of Bihar, raised voice against corruption and migration. But not contesting against Tejashwi Yadav from a high-profile seat like Raghopur raises questions on his ‘game changer’ claim.
PK said, my goal is to make people stand together, not personal victory. But in the caste-based and muscle power politics of Bihar, the face of the leader matters a lot. Nitish, Lalu, Tejashwi – all of them themselves took charge in the field. PK’s retreat may break the morale of the workers. PK’s absence will reduce voter confidence because personal leadership and ground presence are important in Bihar. This is the second mistake after the mistake of not contesting in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Lack of funding and organization was already a challenge. If PK had fought from Raghopur, the contest against Tejashwi would have grabbed headlines and the party would have got energy.
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